I Believed in Father Christmas
by Sarcastrow
Summary: This is the sequel to Season of the Wolf. Lavender takes Seamus home for Christmas to meet her family. Many people have requested that I tell this part of the romance of Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown. Here it is. A Sisters of the Moon Story
1. They Said There'd Be Snow At Christmas

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 1

They Said There'd be Snow at Christmas

Luna walked across the little kitchen in their flat and set a plate in the middle of the table in front of Seamus. He was very fond of his best mate's girlfriend, and as flatmates they got on well, but the girl had very odd tastes. One was food, although tonight's sushi looked spectacular. Several different kinds sat on the platter, and he was having a lot of trouble waiting for Dean.

"Art boy better get home soon or I'm starting without him," Seamus said.

Luna swatted his hand as he stretched it out toward the platter. "He'll be here shortly. He just had to stop off at his mother's. Since you're going to Lavender's parents we're staying over at his mum's for Christmas, and he wanted to get his old room ready for us."

Seamus grinned. "Don't think Sylvia and Mr. Brown would let Lav do that, do you?"

"No, Seamus," Luna said with genuine concern. "Unfortunately, many parents are not as open minded as my father and Dean's mother. I fancy you and Lavender will be sleeping in separate beds tonight. Sadly there'll be no making love until you get back home."

Seamus chuckled and shook his head. _You just have no filter at all do you?_ he thought. _You think it and out it comes._

"Quite the contrary, Seamus, I think a great many things that I don't say," Luna said, and then looked at him concerned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"'S okay, I wasn't really trying, and I know how hard it is for you not to hear the thoughts around you. I am getting a bit better at the _Occlumancy_ though, aren't I?"

Luna smiled. "Oh yes, I hardly ever hear your thoughts anymore, unless of course you and Lavender are making love. Then I hear both of you so loudly I have to make love to Dean just to clear my head."

"Thanks. That helps a lot, that does," he said sarcastically.

She smiled. "I'm glad. Dean certainly doesn't mind," she said.

As if on cue, Dean Thomas stepped through the back door of their flat and into Luna's arms. Seamus was very happy for his best friend. He had found the love of his life in the most desperate of situations. Luna and Dean had known each other in the DA, but since they had been reunited in the basement of Malfoy Manor they hadn't spent more than a few hours apart, and they had become a noun, Luna-and-Dean, like Ron-and-Hermione, or Ginny-and-Harry. Seamus smiled. He had recently heard his name incorporated into a noun, and he was secretly thrilled. Seamus-and-Lavender: he grinned even wider.

The kiss broke apart and Luna stroked her hand down the side of Dean's face. "I missed you," she said in a husky voice. "This afternoon when I was cleaning the table," – her eyes grew even more misty than usual – "as I was wiping it down the rhythm of it bumping on my hips reminded me of Thursday night." She drew her hand lovingly down the middle of the table, closing her eyes in reminiscence. "It's good that this table is very strong and can support us."

There was a loud thump as Seamus's head impacted against the table's surface.

Luna looked at him quizzically. "Is something wrong, Seamus?"

His forehead banged against the table again. "Just wiping that image from my mind." His head came down with another thump.

Luna smiled. "I can help with that if you want," she said, only half seriously.

"No, it's better this way," he said, and there were a few more thumps.

Luna turned back to Dean, who was shaking in silent laughter. "Sushi tonight, the fishmonger I go to down at Billingsgate got in some very fresh blue fin tuna. He also had some octopus, some fresh Irish Salmon, and some very nice prawns."

Dean rubbed his hands together. "Well then my love, let's eat, it looks terrific," he said as he surveyed the carefully arranged platter on the table. The selection of tasty, bite sized morsels formed a spiral pattern of alternating colors that ended in a splayed arrangement of thin sliced tuna and salmon in the middle.

Luna was just as artistic as Dean, but her talent ran over a broader range. Dean was highly skilled and talented at realistic illustrations, drawings, and paintings. Luna could draw well, but she could also sing, and she played the piano with a skill and emotion that frequently took Seamus's breath away. She also had a talent for matching form and color when she cooked, and even though some of the combinations were odd at best, she had never made anything that the boys didn't finish.

Dean looked at Seamus. "Lavender coming tonight?"

"Yeah," Seamus said, "she's finishing up with Parv at Madam Malkin's. They're closing the shop tonight, so I don't know when she'll get here. Just save her some of the fish; you know how she likes it."

Dean laughed. "Yeah I do: raw, just like everything else."

"That's not what I meant," Seamus said, giving his friend a side long look.

Luna grabbed a piece of a roll from the platter and popped it in Dean's mouth. "You eat, I'll fix a plate for Lavender." She grabbed a bite for herself and began fixing Lavender's plate.

v"Mphf. Okay, I'll just do that," Dean said through the mouth full of food.

Seamus took that for the dinner bell and tucked in.

-~####

"Parv?" Lavender called across the empty shop. "Parv, can you help me with this?"

"Coming," she heard from the store room. Parvati came through the door with a bundle of ties in her arms. "What do you need?"

Lavender had a large collection of dress robes levitated in front of her. "I don't want to put these down on the floor, could you hang them on the rack for me?"

Parvati smiled at her best friend. "Of course," she said. She draped the ties over her left arm and with a wave of her wand the robes, one by one, lifted themselves off the pile in front of Lavender and hung themselves on the rack. "That right?" Parvati asked as the last one slid into place.

Lavender lowered her wand. "Yeah, I didn't want to have to clean them, they're brand new."

"So… Christmas at home," Parvati said, smugly, "and with Seamus."

"Oh shut it," Lavender said, laughing. "It's all part of the deal we made in July. I went with him to his parents' twenty-fifth anniversary party, so he has to come to my house for Christmas."

"You're not worried?" Parvati asked in a serious voice.

Lavender's face fell. "I'm terrified, Parv. Mum's thrilled. She's only met Shay a few times, and she's really looking forward to getting to know him, but Dad… I just hope he behaves."

"Jasmine and Artemisia are okay then?" Parvati asked.

Lavender sat on the shoe stool, and chuckled. "Yeah, they're rather curious about Shay, but those two I can handle." Her voice became melancholy and stressed. "I'm just really worried about Dad. I mean I've told Shay how he gets, and I'm going to try to keep him away from the whisky. I just hope he doesn't ruin everything. He's done it so often."

Parvati smiled knowingly at her friend. She and Seamus had talked about Lavender's father. Parvati had witnessed more than one of Mr. Brown's lapses, and they hadn't been pretty. When the man had too much to drink, as he was wont to do, he became belligerent and abusive. After he sobered up he was depressed and contrite, but Lavender had told her that would only last a few days, and then it would happen again. Parvati had recounted her experiences to Seamus, and he had made it plain to her that if the man got out of control, he had a plan.

She knelt next to her friend. "Don't worry, Lav," she said, patting Lavender's hand. "Seamus loves you so much; he won't let anything or anyone get in his way. You'll see."

The two women shared a hug. "So … you and Anthony?" Lavender said with a smirk.

Parvati smiled and blushed. "It's a good thing neither of us are particularly devout in our own religious heritage. We've gone over to his parents' house the last few nights to light the Menorah, but mostly we're doing the Christmas thing – which reminds me, look at this." She drew a velvet bag from her pocket, undid the draw string, and pulled an oval brass medallion about the size of her hand from the bag. "It's a cloak clasp I got from that little shop that opened at the end of the alley. It's got these charms on it so that it never falls from the cloak. It uses magic instead of a pin so it doesn't make a hole either."

Lavender turned the clasp over in her hands. "For Anthony?" Parvati nodded and smiled. "I don't recognize the design. Looks like a Celtic knot but it's kind of angular. Where's it from?"

"Pakistan," Parvati told her. "There's these wizards that live up in the hills. They've been working metal for centuries. We hardly ever see their work here because it's so good it just doesn't make it to us."

Lavender returned the clasp to her and she stowed it back in the bag. "So what's Anthony getting you?" she asked.

"I don't know, and it kind of scares me a little. He does work in a jewelry shop that his parents own, you know," Parvati said.

"Ooh, a ring then, maybe?"

Parvati smiled and shook her head emphatically. "No, no, no. I told him very firmly that he was not to do that."

"Well I've got Shay one of the nice dark green travel cloaks with the self cleaning charm. His is nearly worn out and too short anyway. Margaret, his mum, is embroidering the Finnigan and McNearny family knots on the back for me."

Lavender was looking off into the distance with a faint smile, and Parvati chuckled._ I hadn't seen that look on you in a long time,_ she thought. _It's good to see it back. You need to be in love._ "Sounds beautiful," she said. "Much better than some you've given past Christmases. Any idea what he's getting you?"

"You're never giving that up, are you?" Lavender said, shaking her head.

"Are you kidding?" Padma asked, shaking with tears leaking from her eyes. "My Sweetheart? I'll be laughing about that when we're pensioners!"

"Well, my dearest friend, thanks ever so for that pleasant memory, but as to Seamus's gift, I've not a clue," Lavender said. "But he says he's certain I'll like it." She rose from the stool. "And speaking of Shay, he's back at the flat with Luna, Dean and dinner, so I'd best be on my way if I want to eat tonight."

Parvati laughed. "I'm sure they'll save you some."

Lavender chuckled, shook her head, and smiled at her. "I'm not," she said.

-~####

Luna tapped Seamus on the shoulder. "She's here. Dean and I are on our way, so give Lavender our best," she said, and walked out of the kitchen. Lavender came through the back door a few moments later, and Seamus wrapped her in a hug.

"You're cold," he said, and kissed the chill from her lips.

Lavender brushed a little snow from her robes when they broke apart. "It had just started snowing in the alley when I left." They looked out of the kitchen window at the gentle flurry. "White Christmas this year. That'll be beautiful," she said.

Seamus smiled down at her. He was still slightly amazed at how much she affected him. There was a sensation of weightlessness in his chest, and he shook his head at how hard he had fallen for Lavender. "Yeah, white here in London, but will it be snowing in Suffolk?" he asked, to cover his burst of emotion.

"Usually, yes. When it snows here, it snows there," she said.

He hugged her to him and kissed her again more soundly. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Famished," she answered. "Madam Malkin and all those _male_ customers kept us running, we didn't get a break all day." She smacked his arm. "Why is it you men wait until the last two days before Christmas to shop?"

"Hey, I was done a week ago," he said in mock offence. "Got Mike the new Evanescence CD, Shieghly that piano course that Luna recommended for the kids, Mum and Dad the comforter you suggested, Luna and Dean the Kama Sutra box," – he blushed furiously – "and you yours." He kissed her one last time and released her from the hug. "Luna made sushi tonight and fixed you a plate, here." He pulled her plate from the cooling cabinet.

Lavender growled in pleasure at the artistic array of salmon, tuna, prawns, and octopus that Luna had laid for her. "Looks great," she said, and took a seat at the table.

Seamus shook his head and laughed. "I don't know how she does it," he said as he set Lavender's plate in front of her. "This unassuming little witch from Surrey can wrangle sushi with the best in London, she can make a curry to die for, and the pies… oh Lav, you have to learn the pie recipe."

"Already have, my love," she said between bites, "already have."

"Wicked," he said, and kissed her hand.

Lavender squeezed his and took another piece of salmon. "Yeah, I've learned a bit from Luna, and not just the art of control. She's taught all of us a bit, and we've taught her even more." A serene smile rested on her face and Seamus felt the weightless feeling again. He could see her reliving the memories, and he was pleased that they were such happy ones. She looked at him. "She made the lasagna yet?"

Seamus looked a bit puzzled. "What, you mean the one with mushrooms, and all those Italian meats?"

"That'd be the one, yes."

"Oh yeah, about four weeks ago," he told her.

"While I was at Hogwarts?" Lavender said in an annoyed voice.

"Yeah, come to think of it, it was."

Lavender smiled. "The bitch," she said laughing. "That's _my_ recipe, and I didn't get a bite. I didn't even know."

"Well she did credit you as I recall." Seamus laughed

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Seamus blushed as the memory overtook him. "It was really good," he said earnestly, "and I uh, you see love, sometimes I don't think so well when you're around. You'd just been away for three nights, you had, and when you got back…"

"I remember," she said coyly.

"So do I," he said reverantly.

Lavender took a bite. "So you liked it?"

A stunned look crossed Seamus's face. "Yes. Of course, how could you ask? I mean my god, woman…"

"The lasagna, Shay," she said, as she laughed and blushed herself.

"Oh yeah, um, that too," he said, looking into her eyes. She could see a boundless ocean of adoration there, and her heart swelled.

"Good," she said, and took the final piece of salmon from the plate. It was fantastic, and the last three pieces of tuna followed. She had saved a few slices of the octopus to top off her meal. The almost crab-like flavor was one of her favorites, and with just a hint of wasabi for bite it sent shivers though her.

Seamus snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, and there's this chocolate… thing for afters."

"Chocolate thing?" she asked, with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, well it's not cake, and it's not pie, but it will do nicely," he said.

"Then let's have some," she said, and then looked at the door to the sitting room. "Where are they?"

Seamus retrieved the dessert from the cooling cabinet. "Dean's mum's. They'll be spendin' Christmas there. Luna told me today."

"I'm glad she likes Luna, it's so much better when the mum likes you," Lavender said, and brushed her hand down Seamus's arm.

"You're a walking advert for that, you are," he said, then bent and kissed her.

Lavender looked at the glass bowl he was holding. "It's called a trifle, Shay."

He tilted his head to the side. "Okay. All I know is it's really good."

She laughed a little as he dished up two more helpings. "I just hope this next few days goes as well as it did with your family."

"It will, love," he said, as he gave her the dessert. "Sylvia seems to like me already, so I just have to win over your dad, brother, and sisters. Not hard at all with me winning charm, I tell you." He said in full brogue.

She slapped his arm. "Oh, turn it off!" she said, with a mouth full of trifle.

"But you want me to make them love me, right?"

"They will anyway." She gave him a chocolate flavored kiss. "Just like me."

"I love you, Lavender."

"I love you, Seamus."

-~####

They decided to walk more than Apparate to Lavender's parents' house. The snow was falling thickly but not sticking, and it made London a magical place. When they had made it out of the little Wizarding neighborhood that surrounded Diagon Alley, they Apparated to a park about a mile from her childhood home in Suffolk. The snow was indeed falling there too. There was heavier traffic in the area near Ipswich than in their part of London. The air was cleaner though, and they held hands and snuggled as they walked the mile to her house.

The old house wasn't in the town proper, but just outside in a neighborhood of small farms and cottages. The trains could be heard clearly in the distance, as could the local church bells. They chimed seven times as Lavender led Seamus up the walk to the front door. He recognized the same unease in her that he had felt five months earlier.

"It'll be fine," he told her as they reached the door. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

_You really are my knight, Shay,_ she thought, then turned and kissed him. "Thanks," she said, and took a deep breath. "Well, nothing for it." Lavender reached out, grasped the ornate knocker on the door, and gave it two loud raps.

After a few moments there was a scuffle from behind the door. It opened to reveal two women, obviously Lavender's sisters, struggling to be the one to greet them.

"Told you," Lavender said to Seamus in a quiet voice.

Seamus stepped forward and took the older, darker haired woman's hand. "So you'd be Artemisia, you would. A pleasure 'tis to meet you. And that would make you Jasmine, then," he said, as he took the younger, thinner woman's hand and kissed it.

The two women giggled in delight, so they didn't hear Seamus say, "Told you," quietly to Lavender.

Lavender knew in her heart that Seamus was a handsome man, but she hadn't been consciously aware of just how good looking he had become until she saw the reaction of her sisters. His face had thinned over the years, and the few small scars from the tortures he had endured during their seventh year lent a hardened, roguish look to him. Seamus kept himself fit. He ran every night, and she had recently started teaching him some of the martial arts that her brother was teaching her. As they hung their travel cloaks on the pegs, Lavender saw her sisters appraising Seamus from behind. _That's right, girls, _she thought._ He's handsome, he's got a great arse, he's funny, and he's mine._ She slipped her hand in his.

A woman's voice came from deeper in the house. "Is that Lavender and Seamus?"

"Yes, Mum," Lavender called.

A middle aged woman, dark brown hair tied up in a bun on her head, came through the doorway to the dining room. "I'm just finishing some of the desserts for tomorrow," she said as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Good to see you again, Seamus." She hugged him.

"Aye, and sure it's as great a pleasure to see you again, Sylvia," Seamus said. "It's even clearer, now that I see your other beautiful daughters, where they get their good looks from."

Mrs. Brown hugged Lavender. "Keep him!" she whispered loudly in her ear, and then stepped back. "I'll just finish what I'm doing and then join you in the sitting room.

Artemisia took Seamus's other hand. "Have you heard the new Weird Sisters album?" she asked him. "It's called 'The Spell of Christmas'."

"No I haven't," he said, "and I'd love to. They played at the Yule Ball in our fourth year, you know."

"Yes," Jasmine said in a deadpan voice. "I had just finished the year before." She looked at Lavender in that way sisters do. "We did hear _all_ about it though."

Seamus laughed heartily. "I can imagine you did." He released Artemisia's hand and slid his arm around Lavender's waist. "We did dance the night away, didn't we, love," he said as he gave her a twirl and then dipped her. As she came back up he drew her to him and gave her a quick kiss.

Lavender smiled at him and felt her face warm. "Yes we did, Shay," she managed. _And I remember every second, every dance. You were great that night, even if we were only fourteen._

"Aye, if we'd have only known then." He kissed her hand, and then looked at Artemisia. "So, you have this new Weird Sisters record then?" he asked.

Lavender released him from the embrace, and her sisters led him into the sitting room. "Yes, we do," Artemisia said. It's on the record player and ready. Oh," she said, as she saw a young man come in from the kitchen, "Rowan, when did you get here?"

"Just now, Artie," he said. "So, is this the infamous Seamus Finnigan?"

Seamus laughed and shook his hand. "I am, and you'd be Rowan, the man who's taught me girlfriend how to kick me arse."

"I am," the tall, dark haired man said. "And I'm sure she can kick your arse, so make sure you stay on the right side of her." He clapped Seamus on the back.

Seamus smiled at Lavender's brother. "Oh, I intend to do just that. I've seen Lav in a temper, I have, and it's a frightening thing, so I'll be behaving, Rowan. Of that you can be sure."

Jasmine lowered the needle onto the record spinning on the turntable.

_They said there'd be snow at Christmas_

_They said there'd be peace on Earth_

_But instead it just kept on raining_

_A veil of tears for the virgin birth_

"Ah, me da' loves this song," Seamus said. "He knew the feller that wrote the lyrics when he was in uni. He looked out the window at the falling snow. "Interesting arrangement, this is. It fits."

Artemisia turned to him. "Are you a musician, Seamus?"

"No, oh no," Seamus said. "I sing a wee bit, but me flatmate Luna is an amazing piano player. I've learned a lot from her."

"We all have," Lavender said, as she sat on the arm of a chair.

"I find her kind of aloof," Jasmine said. "I don't know, I just never connected with her."

Seamus laughed. "Aye, well she does keep people at arm's length until she knows their intentions, but really she's more special than most people can guess. I'm really happy for me friend, Dean."

Jasmine snorted "He's another 'hero' isn't he?"

Seamus became serious. "Aye, Jasmine, he is. Dean was on the run the whole of the year that should have been his seventh. He saw two good friends murdered by Death Eaters right in front of him, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. After that he was thrown into the dungeon they called their basement at the Malfoy's, and that's where he and Luna found each other. I don't think they've spent more than a day apart since. When the battle started he was unarmed. He physically took a Death Eaters wand from him, beat it from him." Seamus laughed. "I saw the poor bloke after. Dean had wee bit o' pent up anger, he did."

Lavender took his hand. "You never told me that part," she said.

Seamus stroked his hand down her hair. "Never came up, love." He turned to the others. "I think it was Crabbe's father actually, couldn't really tell. Dean had trashed him rather thoroughly, and cursed him as well. After he won his wand, we fought together, me, him, and Luna. For a while anyway, then Lav was hurt and I took her to Madam Pomfrey. I didn't catch up with him again until it was almost over. He turned back to Lavender. "Did you know he and Grawp handled the giants mostly by themselves?"

Her eyes grew wide in wonder. "He never talks about it."

"Yeah," Seamus said with a melancholy laugh. "We only talked about it once, just after the battle. He was out behind the castle with Grawp. He'd do a trip jinx on them and then Grawp would pummel them. Dean said Grawp was having a lot of fun with it until one of the big guys broke his foot."

"That's how Grawpy broke his foot!" Lavender exclaimed. "He and I were quite the pair, limping around the grounds."

"Yeah, you were," Seamus said, and kissed the top of her head. "He loves you nearly as much as I do, you know."

"He loves Hermione more," Lavender said, and laughed grimly.

Seamus smiled at her. "I'm not so sure about that. I think he loves you all equally. After you built his house for him? The way he looked at the nine o' you when you were done? If anyone tried to hurt any of the Sisters with him around, they'd be flat in seconds."

Lavender shrugged and nodded. "It was nice of Professor McGonagall to let us build that other hut for him in the forest. I know Professor Hagrid is relieved that he can keep an eye on his little brother and still do his job."

"Little brother," Seamus laughed. "I never thought of Grawp that way."

"So you're Seamus," a voice from the doorway said.

Lavender flinched and looked at her brother. Rowan nodded back.

"Yeah, Dad," he said, as Seamus stood and turned. "Seamus Finnigan, this is our father, Nathanial Brown." The two men shook hands.

"A right pleasure it is, sir," Seamus said, "and I want you to know that me intentions toward your daughter are honorable and very serious."

Mr. Brown laughed. "Gets straight to the point, this one, eh Lavender?"

"Yeah, dad he does," she said, and smirked. _He certainly tells me exactly what he wants. Just last night…_and her mind wandered to a particularly erotic moment they had shared the previous evening.

"You with us, love?" Seamus asked, and chuckled at her when she snapped out of her reverie.

She nodded and giggled a little. "Just remembering how… sure of yourself you can be," she said, looking him in the eyes.

It was Seamus's turn to blush. They had come to use the term "sure of yourself" in a very intimate way.

They were just standing and staring at each other when Artemisia asked Lavender, "You going to let us in on this?"

Lavender looked at her and smiled sweetly. "No."

Jasmine laughed. "I see, already have your own secrets do you?"

Lavender shot her sister a wicked grin. "Yes, and I know more than a few of yours, so don't push it."

"Done, baby sister," Jasmine said. "I've seen your concept of revenge. I'll just get the wine, shall I?"

"An Irishman needs something a bit stronger than wine, I think," Mr. Brown said, and with a swish of his wand a decanter with 'Scotch Whisky' etched in the glass appeared on the side table.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, sir, I don't think tonight's the night for whisky," Seamus said. "Rather keep me wits about me."

"Nonsense," Mr. Brown said as he conjured three tumblers and poured three generous portions in them. "For the men at least." He handed one to Seamus and one to Rowan.

Seamus took the glass. "I'll join you in just this one, Mr. Brown, but I'll be sticking to something a bit lighter after that."

"Alright then, Merry Christmas," Mr. Brown said, and he downed the contents of his glass in one go.

Seamus raised his eyebrows at Rowan who looked back with an exasperated expression. The two younger men clicked the glasses together and took a sip.

"Very nice, Mr. Brown, highland is it? Which one?"

"Ah, well spotted Seamus. I have this friend you see, and, well, he's never had much respect for the law. He runs himself a little distillery up Loch Lorain. Lovely, isn't it?" He made to pour himself another.

Seamus finished his in one long draw, and set the glass on the table. "It's very good, sir, but poteen should be drunk with care and savored. Perhaps you should save the rest, it's a lovely evening and I'm sure you'll want to be remembering it," he said.

"Bollocks, you sound like my wife." Mr. Brown's temper was rising. Seamus had seen this kind of thing many times before. He gently laid his hand over Mr. Brown's on the decanter.

"I've met your wife, and she seems like a wise woman. Perhaps you should listen to her," he said seriously.

"I'll not be told what to do in my own house." Seamus could tell Mr. Brown was already several drinks ahead of him, and he could see the man's temper was about to burst out. "Especially by some young Irish punk only interested in getting into my daughter's knickers."

Seamus looked at Lavender. She shook her head and a lone tear leaked from the corner of her eye. That was it, he was done. Lavender had shed quite enough tears in Seamus's estimation, and he would not stand by and let anyone make her cry. He took a deep breath. All those long days with Neville, sitting in the room of requirement, had taught Seamus well. The whole of the year Neville had plotted, strategized, and studied great tactics from the military leaders of the past, and Seamus had been there over his shoulder the entire time. When they were free to do nothing but plan the defense of Hogwarts, Neville had really come into his own, and Seamus had been astounded at his friend's ability. Now it was his turn. He had made his plan. It was full of risk, and Lavender might hate him when it was done, but he had committed himself. He loved Lavender Brown to the depths of his soul, and her happiness was far more important to him than his own.

Seamus smiled grimly at the man before him. "Perhaps you didn't hear me when I said me intentions toward Lavender were very serious -and entirely honorable. Now I'd very much like to start off on the right foot with you, but if that's not to be…" He drew himself to his full height. "I'll give you one more go, Mr. Brown. Shall we have a pleasant evening o' laughter and merriment, or is this to be 'a learning opportunity' as me friend, Luna puts it?"

"Let me at my Scotch, boy," Mr. Brown said, and made to shove Seamus out of his way.

Seamus had learned many things in his seventh year. Among them was hand-to-hand fighting, taught by Ernie McMillan. He was good, but more importantly, as Ernie had pointed out on many occasions, he was lightning fast. Before Mr. Brown or anyone else in the room knew what was happening, Seamus had him in a hammerlock with his right arm tucked tightly behind his back. Seamus quickly took Mr. Brown's wand from his pocket and slid it into his own, then he pulled out his wand. "'Scuse us," he said to the shocked people in the room, and then he and Mr. Brown Disapparated away.


	2. And I Saw Him Through His Disguise

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 2

And I Saw Him Through His Disguise

Seamus Finnigan and Nathanial Brown popped into reality in a dark, dank room. "_Lumos_,"Seamus said, and his wand illuminated. He pointed it at a sconce on the wall, and a torch leapt to life. Lavender's father could now see they were in what appeared to be a dungeon.

"Welcome to Castle Glamis, Mr. Brown," Seamus said lightly, and shoved the man to a wall. He flicked his wand at him, and a set of manacles chained to the wall snapped closed around his ankles. "Stay right here if you please, I'll be just be a moment." He disappeared with a snap.

-~####

Luna laughed at the expression on Mrs. Thomas's face. She was just finishing the tale of how she and Dean had thoroughly confused a Muggle pet shop assistant when Luna had asked about some of the creatures he had in his shop.

"…so there he is with a full blood Kneazle, and he doesn't even know it. He also had an infestation of Nargles, but it was winter so they weren't very active," she said.

"Ah, yes I see," Dean's mother said, not seeing at all.

Dean smiled and suppressed a laugh. He knew his mother thought Luna odd, but still liked the young blonde woman immensely. A wave of love flowed though him, and he hugged Luna to his side.

She smiled warmly at him. "I love you too, Dean," she said.

There was an unexpected knock on the door.

Dean's sister turned toward it. "I wonder who that could be," she said, rising from her chair, and going to the door. "Oh, it's Seamus. I thought you said he was going to his girlfriend's for Christmas."

She pulled the door open, and Seamus stepped into the room. "Happy Christmas all," he said. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble I'd like to borrow Luna for a wee bit."

She looked at him with her wide eyes. "What's wrong, Seamus?"

"I just need your help with a… personal issue," he said. "Really, it won't take but a wee bit o' time. Do you mind, Dean?"

"Yeah, okay," Dean said. "Just have her back soon."

Seamus took Luna's hand as she stood. "Where are we going, Seamus?" she asked.

He smirked. "Castle Glamis," he said, and Apparated them.

-~####

The dungeon was a surprise. "What's going on, Seamus?" Luna asked warily, then she saw Mr. Brown chained to the wall. She spun to face the young Irishman. With a great deal of force, and in a deadly quiet voice she repeated, "What's going on, Seamus?"

"Let me out of these chains boy!" Nathanial Brown yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. "And give me my wand back or you'll regret it."

As Lavender's father continued to froth Seamus looked at Luna, and in his most serious voice said, "Mr. Brown here was headed into another night o' drunken embarrassment for him, and abuse for his family. He said something very hurtful to both Lavender and meself. I know you've heard Lavender talk about it, but I got to see it start, and I could see the road we were going down." He turned to the man chained to the wall. "Lavender's told us about you. I promised her I wouldn't do anything rash if you got out o' control again," – he smiled roguishly –"so I'm not acting rash. I thought a lot about what I would do if you decided to be a drunken fool this evening." He waved his hand at the room. "This is a secret dungeon in the castle. No one but the descendants o' the original jailers know that it's here, so it'll be nice and private, it will." Seamus turned back to Luna. "He's broken, Luna, he needs to be fixed, and I know you can help me do it." He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, more important than anything. Please, Luna, help me fix him." He took his mental defenses down and let her have free access to his thoughts.

She ripped her hand from his and recoiled in horror and anger. "I WILL NOT, SEAMUS!" she spat. He'd seen Luna upset before, but he'd never seen her truly angry, and he stepped back a pace in shock and fear. "You have no idea what you're thinking. You're asking me to invade his mind, forcefully. I. Will. Not. Do. That." The words had a physical force that hit him in the chest.

Seamus marshaled his courage, stepped forward, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You're the only one, Luna, the only one that can do it." He stepped away, shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the man. "I could pummel him I suppose, but Rowan's apparently done that, and it didn't help." He turned back to her. "No, it has to be you."

"Free me, girl!" Lavender's father shouted. "This young punk is done with my daughter. You'll never touch her again, I'll make sure of that," he yelled at Seamus.

Seamus clenched and unclenched his fists. "Look in me memory, Luna. Look and see. I know you've seen some o' Lavender's memories, seen what he's done. Look in mine."

Luna whipped her wand from her hair. "I should go straight back to Dean's mum's." She tapped her wand on her palm, and then pointed it at Seamus. _"Legilimens,"_ she said angrily, and she saw. She saw the look in Rowan's eyes, saw the tear streak Lavender's face, heard what her father had said, and felt Seamus's resolve. "_Finite."_

Luna stepped away from Seamus and began to pace, breathing heavily. Seamus had never seen her this agitated. Raw fury was rolling off her, he could feel it. "I am very angry with both of you," she said hotly. "You, Seamus Finnigan, you should know better than to put me in this position. You know how I feel about using my gift this way. I will be very cross with you for quite some time, Seamus Finnigan."

_You're using my full name. You must be furious with me, _he thought.

"I AM!" she shouted. "And you," – she wheeled to face Mr. Brown –"you have brought this all on. Do you have any idea of the torture that you put your family through THEIR WHOLE LIVES?" Luna was red faced and panting. She stopped, placed her hand over her heart, and composed herself. Then she turned back to Seamus. "I don't want to do this, Seamus Finnigan. I will not meddle with his mind!"

Seamus nodded. "Yeah, alright, Luna, if that's too much, I understand. I had to ask, though, so just look then… Please," he said, with a note of determination in his voice. "Please, Luna, would you do that? Look, and _show_ him what he's done, what an arsehole he's been. I'll take it from there." Seamus implored. _I don't care if you're mad at me forever,_ he thought._ I don't care if Lav never speaks to me again. If I can fix this part of her life, it will all be worth it._

"Somehow I doubt that," she snapped.

Nathanial Brown had backed up against the wall. Even in his inebriated state he could feel the power coursing through the room as Luna paced. "Don't be doing anything you'll be sorry about, girl. He's in enough trouble as it is; kidnapping is a serious crime."

Luna stopped and stood in front of him. She looked into his eyes, and in her calm voice said, "You should be far more concerned about yourself than Seamus Finnigan. Lavender hasn't told you very much about me, I'm sure. You have no idea what I am capable of."

"A little witch from Surrey? Barely out of nappies? I'm not afraid of you, little missy," Mr. Brown lied. The petite blonde girl in front of him was radiating power, and her flat calm demeanor after her angry outburst was scaring the hell out of him.

She looked deep into his eyes. "Yes, you are, as well you should be. _Legilimens!" _Then Luna did something she had promised herself she would never do: she forced her way into his deepest core. Nathanial Brown could feel his memories being rifled through like the pages of a book, and he grabbed his head as the room spun and twisted around him. Images flashed through his mind until one solidified, and the room disappeared. _Look here, Nathanial Brown,_ Luna's voice said in his head, and she showed him a memory he had buried in an alcoholic haze.

Lavender was three. It was the first real Christmas for her, and he had been drinking. He staggered through the sitting room and stepped on one of the newly unwrapped toys, a small wooden train for Rowan. His anger flared, and he smashed the train and every other toy he found in his way. Only Lavender's doll had been spared. He left the room, crying children in his wake.

Nathanial Brown fell to his knees, guilt and grief washing over him. "Nooo…"

_And here._

It was Artemisia's tenth birthday, and he was drunk. He stumbled into the kitchen and slammed his empty glass on the table. The children, gathered around the table, recoiled in fright and Artemisia trembled in front of her cake.

"Why are you looking at me that way, Artie?" he said angrily. "Cake not good enough for you?"

"Please, Daddy," Artemisia said tearfully.

"Please Daddy what, please buy me a new dress? Please bring home your wage so a bunch of little brats can eat it? You don't deserve how good I am, none of you!" He snatched a fistful of cake from the center and shoved it in his mouth, then strode from the room.

Lavender's father whimpered on the floor of the dungeon. "Stop, please, I can't…"

_No, Nathanial Brown, I will not. Look here._

Jasmine had brought her first boyfriend home to meet her parents. The early part of the evening had gone well, but then Mr. Brown had begun to drink.

"You fucked her yet?" he said in a drunken slur.

The young man looked across the sitting room, eyes wide in terror. "N-No sir, I'd never, uh I mean, I wouldn't…"

"Don' believe you, you little creep. Look at her, just like her mum, gagging for it," he said.

Jasmine had begun to cry.

"And you, you little slag, been spreading it all over Hogwarts I'm sure."

Jasmine dashed from the room.

Seamus looked on open-mouthed. He knew what Luna could do, but he was unprepared for what it was doing to Lavender's father. The man was curled into a fetal ball on the floor, howling in agony. Luna stood over him, her wand pointed at his head. From under her closed eyes a constant stream of tears was flowing.

"Please…" Mr. Brown was barely able to say.

_No._

Rowan had just finished school, and they were having a celebratory dinner. The conversation had moved to Rowan's future plans. Mr. Brown had downed several whiskies, and was in fine form.

"A real son of mine would be heading off to Gringotts, not wasting his time on some Muggle fighting school and working for the Underground. Bloody waste you are," he said, sloshing whisky from his glass. "Not a drop of magic in you is there boy?"

"Nat, stop," Mrs. Brown said from his side.

"I'll not," he said. "Not even mine, is he, you tart? That's what the problem with him is, not even mine." He slapped his wife across the face.

Rowan burst from his chair, kicked his father's over, and snatched his wand from his hand as his father tried to curse him. He threw the wand over his shoulder and hauled his father to his feet.

"Strike her again and I'll kill you," the younger man said in a voice full of fury, and then he dragged his father to the door and threw him out into the rain. "Don't come back until you're sober," he shouted.

Luna continued for almost an hour. She showed him family holidays he had ruined, moments that should have been joyful that turned ugly, countless times he had brought shame on his wife and children. At the end he was sobbing uncontrollably on the floor and Luna was standing over him, trembling, tears coursing down her face.

"_Finite!"_ she spat. Luna wiped the tears from her face and turned to Seamus. "I've done what you asked, Seamus Finnigan," she said. There was a slight shudder in her voice, and Seamus could still hear the anger behind it. "I hope you have a plan from here, because I am finished. Dean and I will see you the day after tomorrow." And she was gone.

Seamus was shocked. He hadn't fully anticipated the ramifications of his plan. First, he had hoped Luna would reach into Mr. Brown's mind and somehow fix the broken part of the man, and he would move on to the second part of his plan, or skip it altogether, but his backup had been to ask her to do what she had done. He had thought that Luna would show him his misbehavior, he would see what a complete arsehole he'd been, and then he'd make a reasoned decision to change. Seamus had no idea what seeing the wrongs he had wrought on his family would do to Lavender's father. Nathanial Brown was weeping like a child at Seamus's feet. He bent, heaved the shaking man upright, and shoved him against the wall.

Seamus produced a flask from his pocket, the second part of the plan. "You sorry then?" he asked.

Several loud sobs came out of defeated lump that was Lavender's father "I'll never… They hate me," he stammered.

"Surprisingly no," Seamus said, and nearly laughed. "Though for the life o' me I can't understand why." He looked the older man in the eye. "You'll be wanting to stop?"

"Yes, yes I can't… they…" He dissolved into tears.

"Get yourself together, man. Here, drink this." Seamus handed the flask to Mr. Brown.

"What is it?"

Seamus smiled knowingly. "I'm Irish as you may have noticed. We've dealt with this kind o' thing for a long time. Drink."

The older man took a short sip, and spat it from his mouth. "What are you playing at, boy, giving me whisky?" he yelled.

"It's not whisky; it's something entirely different," Seamus said. "Me great grandma on me mam's side made that flask for me great granddad. It's bound to you now it's touched your lips." Seamus looked him in the eye. "You still want to quit?"

Lavender's father nodded.

"Drink."

He took a long draw from the flask. It was the best whisky he had ever tasted: so smooth, and with such a sweet fire and burn… then it changed. Something was rebelling in him, struggling to get out, and he bent and retched. Seamus held his robes back as a lifetime's worth of drink tried to exit the man. It only lasted a few minutes but Mr. Brown was panting and sweating at the end. He was also sober as a judge.

"The bargain is this," Seamus said, after he _scourgified _the floor. "You may have one good draw from the flask a day. You _must_ have one good draw from the flask a day. Should any spirits besides sacred wine pass your lips, or you forgo the potion, you'll experience what you just did."

Lavender's father looked at Seamus, stunned and impressed, as the fog from the alcohol left him. He hadn't been truly sober in a long time.

"It won't get you drunk," continued Seamus. "When I said it wasn't whisky, I meant it. Me great gram was a right dab hand at potions, you see. It'll taste like the best whisky on earth, but it's not; it's a very special potion. It takes the craving away, calms the nerves a bit, and it does a few other very nice things you'll grow to like; the flask is charmed to be ever full. All that's left is the pact:" – Seamus held out his hand – "Nathanial Brown, do you take this gift for what it is?"

Nathanial had passed into open shock; this young man was trying to save his relationship with his family, and his life, at a tremendous risk. What he had done was highly illegal. He had obviously made the Lovegood girl very angry by bringing her to the castle, and making her do the awful, but necessary thing she had done. What would Lavender think of her young man now? What would the rest of his family do? He gaped at Seamus.

"Well?" Seamus said.

Nathanial broke into a smile and a few tears leaked from his eyes. "Yes, a thousand times yes, Seamus Finnigan. You are a brash lad. No wonder Lavender is so smitten," he said as he took Seamus's hand.

"Then by Bride it's done. The bargain is made." Seamus shook his hand three times with his right, then three times with his left and then three times with his right again. He flicked his wand at the manacles, and they vanished.

"So this is what a member of Dumbledore's Army and hero from the Battle of Hogwarts is like, eh?" Nathanial said with a grin. "You've got balls, don't you man?"

Seamus smiled. "You live with one, sir. Do you find her afraid o' much?"

Lavender's father looked at Seamus in stunned admiration. "No, not after … no." He shook his head. "Lavender could do far worse than you, Seamus. You're a better man than I am, a better man by far," he said.

"Thank you, you'll be a better man now too," Seamus said, and then let out a long sigh. "And on that note, we've got some music to face, you and I."

Nathanial looked at Seamus, his face held an expression of fear and sadness. "How am I going to face them, Seamus? How? I've been such a fool, such a drunken fool." He hung his head.

"We go back, you apologize, and then you prove to them you've changed." Seamus laid his hand on the older man's shoulder. "It won't happen overnight, and it'll take more than one, or ten, or a thousand apologies. You hurt all o' them bad, but in time, just like me great granddad, you'll be forgiven and more loved than you can hope."

"And you, Seamus. What about you?"

"I expect they'll be a bit cross with me," Seamus said with a sad smile. "But I've had people cross with me before, I have. Oh yes." He chuckled, and then became serious again. "I meant what I told Luna. I love your daughter more than I thought I could love anyone, but if I made you right, gave her dad back to her, then… then I could live with anything she decides."

"Well let's go home," Lavender's father said. "I'll make sure she appreciates what you've done." He put his hand on Seamus's shoulder. "Thank you, lad, I'd be very proud to call you son."

"Well, maybe someday. Let's get through tonight first, shall we?" They disappeared with a snap.

Seamus handed Nathanial his wand after they Apparated onto the step in front of his house.

-~####

"What'll we tell them?" Lavender's father asked.

"I find the truth works well," Seamus said, and laughed. "You take the missus, I'll take the kids." The last part of the plan.

"You've thought this through, have you?"

"Aye, I have," he said with a smile and a nod. "After you."

Nathanial Brown took several deep breaths, walked up the steps, and opened the door. "We're back," he said as he walked into the house, "and we truly have something to celebrate."

Lavender, Artemisia, Jasmine, and Rowan rounded the corner that led to the sitting room door. "Where the hell have you been, and what the hell have you done, Seamus?" Lavender asked angrily.

"He did something that should have been done a long time ago, girl," her father said. "He and your friend… the Lovegood girl."

"Luna?" Lavender said, shocked.

"Yes, Luna," he said, and nodded. "They taught me a lesson, a lot of lessons. Don't be angry with Seamus, it's a good man you have here, Lavender."

Lavender spun to Seamus. "Luna? What did you do?" she asked, low and rough, and there was more than a hint of wolf in the growl.

Mr. Brown laid his hand on Seamus's shoulder. "I don't envy you the next few minutes, lad," he said. "I'll go and talk to Sylvia."

As Nathanial headed to the kitchen Seamus spoke to the younger Browns. "Took him to an old and very private place, I did. Me mam's family goes way back in the law enforcement field you see, and at one time we were jailers for the King o' Scotland, so there's a few quiet places we know that no one else does. I took him to one o' those, and we talked.

Lavender's foot was tapping on the hall tiles. "And Luna?"

Seamus swallowed hard. "Well you see, love…"

"Oh don't you call me love just yet, Seamus. If you've done what I think you've done…" Her eyes were drifting to gold, a sign, Seamus had learned, that meant she was in a full fury.

"Aye, well she's right hacked at me too."

"YOU. DID. NOT! Seamus," Lavender said, incredulously. Jasmine and Artemisia were standing next to Lavender looking equally cross.

"What did he do?" Artemisia asked in nearly the same growl as her younger sister.

"Luna's very special," Lavender said. "She's… She's got a special talent, a special power. We don't talk about it." She spun on Seamus. "And we CERTAINLY don't abuse it, you _sod_!"

Seamus hung his head. "I saw what was happening, I did," he said in a quiet voice. "Saw where it'd be going, and I saw a tear in your eye. That was all it took for me." His head swung up and Seamus Finnigan, the man who had single handedly killed five Death Eaters, looked out from under his fringe. "You all know what was going to happen, don't you?" He didn't wait for a response. "He was going to make this another miserable holiday for you, and well, you've had enough o' those already, you have." He looked into Lavender's eyes. "Luna's the only one, Lav, the only one that could fix him, give you the da you should o' had all along. So I brought her to him, showed her what he was, let her feel him."

Lavender drew back to slap him but found that Rowan had stayed her hand. "Don't do something you'll regret, Lavender," he said. "Dad's been getting worse, we all know that, and none of us was going to do anything about it. If Seamus here has done what I think he has, then we owe him a great deal, a great deal indeed."

Lavender whirled to her brother. "You have no idea what he did. She's…"

"A very special witch," he finished. "I'm a Muggle, not an idiot, Lav. You're different from all the other werewolves; it wasn't that hard to figure out why. Just because I can't do magic doesn't mean I can't read. I read all your school books," he said to his sisters. "Understood most of it. She's a Legilimens, correct?"

Lavender looked at her brother with shock and admiration. "Yes," she answered.

"Yes," – he nodded – "and she's a very powerful one at that, isn't she?"

"That's what you two do," Jasmine said quietly, nodding to herself. "That's how you keep the wolf under control."

"There's a lot more to it than that," Lavender said, "but right now we're talking about what Seamus has done. You made her… Seamus!" She backed away a few paces, her chest heaving.

"No one can _make_ Luna do anything; you know that," he said, "but yes, I asked and she did."

Artemisia, the oldest, spoke at last. "I think you need to calm down, Lav. If what I'm gathering is correct, Rowan is right; we owe your young man here a great deal."

"You don't understand, Artie," Lavender said. "Her gift… we promised her we'd guard it, keep it safe, keep it secret." She stared daggers at Seamus.

"None of us will be blabbing anything," Rowan said. "We can keep her secret, can't we?" he asked his older sisters. They nodded, and Rowan smiled. "Besides, like I said, I figured it out a while ago. You magical people think everything odd is magic, just like the scientists feel everything is rational and explainable. Neither one of you are right. I'd be willing to bet the real reason she's so powerful is because she's naturally very psychic. I am," he said with a shrug.

His sisters looked at him in surprise.

Rowan chuckled. "'Bout time you knew. You know those dreams Mum has?" He nodded at their stunned faces. "I have them too, only I think I may have them a lot more vividly. It's not magic; it's an ability that a lot of humans have. Science can't explain it, and neither does magic, because it is neither." He laughed again. "You really should read more Muggle books, girls, especially Stephen King. What she has, what I have, is called 'the shine'. I reckon she glows in the dark," he said in admiration.

"That still doesn't excuse what Shay did," Lavender said angrily.

Rowan crossed to his younger sister. "He loves you, Lav. He must love you a lot to do something so daring. A man in love will do great and foolish things for the woman of his dreams. Isn't that right, Seamus?"

"Aye, Rowan," Seamus said. "I hope it wasn't foolish though,"

Lavender snorted, turned on her heel, and stalked away.

"Let her calm down," Jasmine said, "and I'll be the first. Thank you Seamus, thank you. Dad's been… well he's made us all want to thrash him, but" – she shrugged and looked down – "he's our dad. I suppose it took an outsider to really see him, to really do it."

Rowan clapped Seamus on the shoulder and said, "come on in the sitting room, Seamus. Tell us what you've done."

-~####

Lavender stomped toward the kitchen. She was furious. _How could he!_ she thought. _ He knows better, he knows we're not to ask that of her._ She let out a growl of anger, leaned against the wall, and composed herself. _I'll just have to go and apologize to mum and dad, and really apologize to Luna._ She snorted her anger again and opened the door to the kitchen. What she saw shocked her. Her parents were woven in a lovers' embrace. She hadn't seen them kiss like that in, well … she hadn't ever seen them kiss like that. They parted and she could see they had both been crying.

Her father stroked his hand down the side of her mother's face. _"_I'm so sorry, Sylv, so sorry, but I'll not drink again. Lavender's young man has seen to that." He drew a silver orb from his pocket, held the flask to his chest and closed his eyes. "Never again will alcohol pass my lips. Thank you, Seamus." He opened his eyes and noticed his daughter in the doorway. "Come on, Lavender. I owe all of you so many apologies. I'll start with you."

Lavender crossed the room to her father, who falteringly drew her into an embrace. Tears fell into her hair and at last her father said, "I'm so sorry for all I've done, all I've said. It's a terrible thing to know you've hurt those who mean the most to you, but I'll make it up to you, I'll make it up to all of you. I promise."

Lavender looked up into her father's eyes, tears in her own. "I'm glad, Dad, but what Seamus did…"

"Had to be done," he said with conviction. "I know you're angry that he brought your friend into it, she is too, but it had to be her. No one else could've done it." He shivered.

Lavender suspected she knew, but she had to ask. "What did she do?"

His wife looked at him. "Yes, I'd like to know too, Nat. You're a changed man in an hour. What happened?" she asked in wonder.

"Seamus took me to a dungeon at Glamis. He chained me there and went for the Lovegood girl." He chuckled. "I was in a fury when he got back, but that was nothing to what she was when she found out his plan." He turned to Lavender. "Your friend has got a temper I don't think anyone but Seamus and I have seen. She's right terrifying." He looked into the distance. "He persuaded her to… I don't know how to describe what she did. She showed me all the things I've done while drunk." The tears started again. "All the times I failed, all the times I hurt you. I thought I would die from the pain." He had to stop for a moment and he drew several shaking breaths. "When she was done she left, and Seamus asked if I wanted to be finished with drink." He looked at his wife and daughter with the most serious expression. "More than anything, that's what I want, and so he gave me this," – he held out the flask – "and told me to drink from it. Thought it was whisky at first; it's what it tastes like, but it's not. It's a potion his great grandmother made for his great grandfather. This flask was his."

Lavender was slack jawed. "He planned it all," she said in wonder.

"Yes he did, girl," her father said, nodding. "You've got the bravest man I've ever met out there in the hall. If his plan hadn't worked, if your friend, Luna had refused, if I'd been more of an arsehole than I am, he'd be on his way to prison right now. I know you're angry with him, but really, don't be. He saved me." He hugged her.

Lavender let out a sigh. "He shouldn't have done that to Luna," she said, still angry.

"She'll be alright, Lavender. I have a feeling she's a lot tougher than any of you know," her father said.

"My god, how he must love you," Sylvia said, shaking her head. "Lav…"

A misty silver hare passed through the window and landed on the floor in front of Lavender. It looked up at her and spoke in Luna's voice. "By now Seamus Finnigan and your father are back. I am sure you are very angry with Seamus Finnigan, you should not be. He loves you so, Lavender. He wouldn't have risked destroying our friendship, and his friendship with Dean, if he wasn't as in love with you as he obviously is. Yes, I am angry with him, but I will choose to forgive it." The hare turned to Mr. Brown. "Nathanial Brown, you have been given a priceless gift. Only you and I know the depth of that gift: do not squander it." With that the hare vanished.

"She's such an old soul," Lavender's mother said smiling. She put her arms around her husband and daughter. "Pudding's ready, shall we celebrate our good fortune?"

-~####

Lavender stood at the crossroads, a life with Seamus on one hand and a life without him on the other. She was so angry with him, but the idea of losing him made her feel as if she was going to die. A growl of frustration left her as she stalked toward the sitting room. What was she to do? He had violated a sacred trust, a promise they had all made to Luna, and he had deceived Lavender. He hadn't lied to her exactly, but he had kept his plan a secret from her, _and Luna!_ she though. For a moment her anger faded, and she was impressed with his new _Occlumency_ skills. She was still in a quandary as she approached the sitting room and heard Seamus's voice.

"…when she made it. It'll calm him, which he'll need in the next few months. He won't experience the shakes either, and he's liable to be more… affectionate too, especially with your mam."

"Does mum have to be careful cooking for him," Jasmine asked.

"No," Seamus said. "The potion knows the difference between food cooked with spirits and the spirits themselves."

Lavender appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. "Mum needs help with the pudding," she announced flatly.

Rowan looked from Lavender to a very worried Seamus. "Ah, yes. Well, Jazz, Artie, let's go and help, shall we?" He snickered to himself as he stood. The two women sat rooted in their chairs staring from Lavender to Seamus. "Now, girls," he said and took their hands, pulling them to their feet. He hastily ushered them from the room, and Seamus stood.

Lavender was obviously angry, Seamus could tell. _Damn Finnigan, you had it and you went too far,_ he thought. _Maybe in time she'll forgive me, maybe. I'll just go back to the flat. Can't go home, Mam would have me head on a plate._

"Aye, well, I suppose I'll just be going then," he said dejectedly, a tear tracking down his cheek.

Lavender crossed the room in three strides and wrapped her arms around him. "No, you'll not just be going then," she said as she laid her head against his chest. "I love you, my stupidly brave Gryffindor."

Seamus let out a huge breath. "I love you, my beautiful Gryffindor lass, I sorry I made you angry."

"You should be," she said tersely, "and I am still very angry, but you did it because you love me, so I can't really fault you for it. Luna sent a patronus. She told me she'll forgive you, so I suppose I have to." She held Seamus out at arm's length. "But, Seamus Finnigan, never do anything like that again without talking to me first." Her eyes told him she was deadly serious and still quite angry.

"I won't, love. I promise," he said, looking in her eyes.

Her mouth twisted in a half grin. "You'd better not, or I'll let my sweet have her way with you."

Seamus chuckled at the nickname for Lavender's wolfself. "Aye, well she loves me too."

"Yes, she does," – Lavender grinned – "but don't push her, or me. Understand?"

"Aye, love, I won't."

"Good." She hugged him again and felt her anger start draining away. "Let's have a second pass at pudding. Mum's plum and cranberry pudding is, ooh…" and she shivered in delight.

"Well with that to recommend it, how's a red blooded Irish lad to refuse," he said, and kissed her with a tender passion.

-~####

As Lavender stepped into the dining room tears filled her eyes again. Her father and brother were locked in a hug, and she could tell her sisters were just as weepy as she was. Jasmine turned, caught sight of Seamus, and nearly tackled him.

"Thank you so much, Seamus," she whispered in his ear as she released him from the crushing hug. "What you have done…"

"Thank Luna," he said softly. "I couldn't have done it without her."

Artemisia drew him into a gentler hug. "We will, but it's you, and your courageous Gryffindor nature got it done. How this house full of Ravenclaws wound up with the pair of you…" She shook her head.

"I want you to know how it went with me great granddad," he said to the women. "It was like this just after me great grandmam gave him the flask." He chuckled. "Or so they tell me. But tomorrow will be another day, and you'll remember and you'll be angry again. One hour doesn't cure a lifetime o' hurt. Not by a long way. But he's on the path, and he'll be ready to apologize any time you need to hear it." He looked at Nathanial who had released his son from the hug.

"Yes indeed, Seamus." He looked at his each of his children in the eye. "I am so sorry, and I'll prove it. Day in, day out, I'll prove it."

Seamus smiled. "Aye, I can guarantee that." He laughed. "Because the first time you fall, and you will, everyone does, it'll be the last time. The flask'll see to that."

Nathanial gave Seamus a grim smile. "Perhaps, but if there's no booze in the house it'll be a lot less likely." He drew his wand. "_Accio Aqua Vitae!" _he cried, and several bottles and decanters flew into the room. He picked the one up with "Scotch Whisky" etched in the side and handed it to Seamus. "This is a poor exchange for what you gave me, Seamus, but I hope that you'll enjoy it more than I ever did." He looked worried for a moment. "I wouldn't be insulting you, would I?"

"Not at all, Mr. Brown, not at all," Seamus replied.

The older man patted his shoulder. "Nat, Seamus," – he looked pointedly at Lavender – "or Dad, when you're ready."

Seamus blushed the way only an Irishman can. "Um, well," he stuttered, "that depends a great deal on Lavender, sir… Nat."

The room erupted in laughter. Mrs. Brown came through the door with the pudding in her hands. "Let's eat this while it's warm and then do our gifts.

"Suits me fine, Sylv," – he shot Seamus a sly smile – "I'm a bit empty."

Seamus nodded. "Lavender told me you open presents Christmas Eve. That's interesting, what led you to it?'

Mrs. Brown answered. "I was stuck in the kitchen all Christmas day, usually, and I'd miss the kids enjoying their presents, so when Lavender turned ten we decided presents Christmas Eve, stockings Christmas morning. Works very well for us."

Seamus shook his head. "Ravenclaws. You're all just so logical."

Mrs. Brown smiled and turned to her youngest. "Lavender, if you please." She nodded towards the sauce and the pudding on the table.

Lavender drew her wand. With an elaborate spiral swish the sauce spun up out of the bowl it was in and lay on the pudding in an intricate web-like pattern.

Jasmine nudged her. "Show off," she said under her breath.

"Hey, I just paid attention," she said in a fake pout. "You and Artie didn't like kitchen work, and I love it, so I got all the recipes and techniques."

"Aye, I can vouch for that," Seamus said. "Luna cooks most times, but lately Lav's been at it, and a mighty fine cook she is. Learned me mam's corned beef hash and colcannon right well." He smiled in bliss.

Lavender hooked his arm. "I had to," she said and then sat in her chair, pulling Seamus into the one next to hers. "It was so good when we had it at the party, I kept thinking about it for days."

Mrs. Brown sat and reached across the table to stroke Lavender's hand. "At least you got that from me," she said.

"Got a fair bit more than that, Mum," Lavender said, "quite a lot more."

The two women smiled warmly at each other, and then Mrs. Brown began dishing out the pudding.


	3. A Dream of Christmas

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 3

A Dream of Christmas

Half an hour later they were all gathering in the sitting room. Rowan served tea to the women while Lavender's father knelt next to the tree. "As I've been given the first gift of the evening, it's only proper mine to you should be next," he said, and passed several small packages from under the tree to his children. "I was a bit remiss in not havin' one for you, Seamus, I'm sorry."

Seamus laughed lightly. "That's fine, Nat. Not cursing me for holding hands with your daughter is present enough."

As the laughter in the room subsided Nathanial turned to his wife. "Sylv, I've seen you look at this for a long time, 'bout time you had it." He handed her a medium sized, but obviously heavy, box. Her bemused look told him she was completely mystified. The sound of tearing paper accompanied the Brown family opening their gifts. Jasmine pulled a glittering bracelet set with purple stones from her box. "I did pay some attention when we were in Diagon Alley last month," her father said at her shocked expression. Artemisia drew a beautiful black quill with and ornate gold nib from her box.

"You certainly did, Dad," she said, and smiled warmly at him.

Rowan lifted a pair of glasses from his box. At his quizzical look Nathanial chuckled. "Put them on, son," he said. "I know you've wanted a Muggle microscope for your geology hobby, but this'll be better. You can take them with you on your hikes, and look at your rocks close up without having to bring them home. Just slide your finger back or forward on the left temple piece to change the magnification."

Rowan crossed the room and hugged his father again. "Thanks dad, this really means a lot to me."

"I know, son. Don't believe I think less of you ever again."

Rowan regarded his father. He seemed both younger and far older at once. His voice was strong and firm, the quaver he had developed recently as his consumption of whisky had increased was completely gone. He was walking steadily and quickly, and he was alert, but his eyes, his eyes looked ancient. "I won't, Dad," he said.

Nathanial reached out, put his hand on his son's shoulder and nodded. "Good." He turned back to watch his family.

Lavender's box contained a silver crescent moon pendant on a silver chain. A small wolf sat in the crescent and silently howled. Lavender smiled at her father clutched the pendant to her chest, the message of love and acceptance making her speechless. "We love you, Lavender. Never doubt that," her father said.

A gasp sounded from his side as his wife pulled the top off of her box. "Is this the one from Borgin and Burkes?"

Nathanial smiled broadly. "The same."

Her hands disappeared into the box and brought an eight inch rock crystal sphere from it, sat it in her lap and took the ornately carved wood stand from the box. After she had sat the stand and then the ball on the table she turned and stared open mouthed at her husband. "I never thought… Nat." She kissed him soundly.

"Get a room," Artemisia said, only half joking.

"Got one just upstairs, girl," her mother told her. "And you be glad for it. It's the reason you're all here."

Her husband chuckled at her side. "You know, somehow I knew this would be a special night," he said. "I knew I had to make your presents special this year. I'm glad I listened to that little voice."

"You did great Dad," Rowan said. "I hope you lot like mine as much."

Rowan passed out his presents. Artemisia, Jasmine, Lavender, and his mother each received a box of their favorite Muggle chocolates, for which they thanked him genuinely. His father received a new Muggle hat. "I'll look right respectable out in public in this, thank you son, it's very nice," the older man said.

"Seamus, I kind of took a stab with this one," he said as he turned to the younger man. "Don't know if you can play these or if you like the band but here you go."

"Ah a CD," Seamus said as he took the small package from Rowan. "I can, in fact. Me brother is a Muggle like you. Has a very nice stereo set, he does. So what have we here… ah U2. We don't have this yet, thanks, Rowan." He held up the latest release from the Irish band. "Mike took me to see them a couple o' years ago in Dublin; 'twas a great show, it was. Bono had this electric suit; lit up all kinds of colors. Edge played like a madman, was great. Thanks, Rowan."

Lavender's mother had made each of her children a book of the family recipes. The illustrations were charmed to move as the recipe was read to show exactly how stir this or fold in that. "I know Lavender will use it; I hope the rest of you find it helpful too," she told them. For her husband she had a new watch chain. "Yours has been mended so many times I don't think the charms can hold out any longer," she said, and kissed him again.

"About that room," Artemisia quipped again.

Her mother harrumphed at her.

"I noticed Seamus's scarf was a bit worn last time I saw him, so I got you this," she said as Seamus pulled a new Gryffindor scarf from his package.

"Thanks ever so, Sylvia," he said. "I'll give the old one a proper send off."

Artemisia and Jasmine had got clothes for their family. Rowan and their father received new shirts and socks. They gave each other, Lavender and their mother dresses, and to Seamus they gave a wizard's hat. "Never had one of these," he said with a smile. "Dad's a Muggle, and Mam just never thought about it I suppose. Thanks, ladies."

"Well I'll do mine," Lavender said from her chair. She handed her father a small box she pulled from her pocket. "I stole into Stourhead this autumn, hope you can grow these." He opened the box, and several rose hips and other seeds tumbled into his hand.

"You know me too well girl, which ones are these?" he asked.

"Remember those purple roses up by the house that you liked?"

He nodded.

"Those, and the dark red, oh and the bright pink with the red fringe that are in the rose garden," she answered. "There's also some seeds from the rhododendrons in that walk on the north side and the clematis that grows round the Spread Eagle."

Seamus spoke from her side. "Me mam is quite the gardener too, Nat. I'd be glad to introduce you."

"Well we'll have to arrange that soon then, Seamus," he said, and looked at his daughter. "Perfect, Lavender, thank you. Will you help me plant them this April?"

"Of course, Dad. Here." She handed a bundle to each of her siblings. "I got the employee discount, so don't worry that I've overspent; besides, I don't think Shay or I will ever spend our way through the awards the ministry gave us."

"Luna seems to have done a fair job o' it," Seamus said with a laugh.

"She had to rebuild her house, buy all new equipment for 'The Quibbler', and get her dad well," Lavender said. "Still, she's not broke either, and Dean is as frugal as they come, so I'm not worried about her."

"I've put most o' mine aside for a house," Seamus said. "Somewhere in Limerick, near home."

Sylvia looked admiringly at the young man. "You're wise beyond your years, Seamus," she said.

Seamus shook his head. "Not really, Sylvia. 'Tis me mam's doin', she gave me quite the lecture after they gave us all those medals and Galleons. Didn't really sink in 'til a few months ago though." He smiled at Lavender.

Artemisia and Jasmine gasped at the embroidered silk scarves in their packages, and Rowan crossed the room and hugged his sister when he pulled a black silk Kung Fu jacket with a large Chinese dragon embroidered on the back.

"This is for you, Shay," Lavender said, and she gave him a soft bundle wrapped in red and gold.

He looked at her with a broad smile. "Got no idea, you know that, right?"

She smiled and nodded.

The cloak was dark green and the knot work on the back, in gold thread, almost glowed. Seamus's eyes filled and he was choked from the rush of affection he felt for Lavender. "Thanks, love," he managed, and kissed her.

"Will you people get a room," Artemisia said, and her sister and brother fell about laughing

"My turn then?" Seamus asked, when they had recovered.

"I think you've given us the greatest gift of all already," Jasmine answered. "But go ahead."

"Ah well," Seamus said shrugging his shoulders. "These are something like the Galleons that Lav and I have." He pulled a group of small medallions on chains from his pocket, and smiled at Lavender. "Hermione helped me a wee bit with the charms," he told her, and then turned to the rest of the family. "Since Rowan's not magical we had to do the charms a bit different from the D.A. Galleons. Just squeeze the medallion and say your message. It'll do three words fairly well, more than that might confuse it. The others will heat up just like ours, and you'll be able read the message at the bottom."

He passed a medallion to each of the family members. A tree and a rose adorned one side, a large capital B was on the other. Rowan squeezed his and said, "Thank you, Seamus."

The others smiled as their medallions warmed and the message appeared under the B.

"And I have something just for Lav, if you don't mind," Seamus said to the group.

A wave of laughter ran thought the room. "So long as you can give it to her in public, no we don't mind," her mother said, and they all laughed again.

"Aye, that I can," Seamus said. With a wave of his wand he summoned his satchel from the peg in the hall. It sat itself on the table, and he pulled a large square box from it. "I saw how much you liked Dad's," he said in a quiet voice as he handed the box to Lavender.

Lavender looked up at him in awe. "Is it…" She tore the wrapping from the package, and a plain wooden box about ten inches on a side sat in her lap.

"Took most of November to get the charms right. Mam helped me a bit."

Lavender gently set the box on the side table and drew Seamus into a passionate kiss.

"ROOMS!" Artemisia shouted, and everyone laughed again.

"So what is it?" Jasmine asked.

Seamus looked into Lavender's emerald eyes, and said, "Shall we dance, me love?"

Lavender nodded, and stood. "I need to send the table to the basement for a bit. Would you mind moving that spectacular crystal ball, Mum?" she asked. "And could we clear the cups?" He mother nodded and there was a flurry of movement as the table was rapidly divested of everything but the center piece. With a flick of her wand the table was banished. "Moondance," she said as she bent and lifted the lid on the box. A soft bass line filled the room accompanied by alternating chords on a piano.

Seamus looked at Jasmine. "It's a box o' Morrison," he said, and he swept Lavender into his arms. Then Van Morrison began to sing from the box.

"_Well it's a marvelous night for a Moondance_

_With the stars up above in your eyes_

_A fantabulous night to make romance_

_'Neath the cover of October skies"_

Lavender and Seamus moved in perfect sync to the music. After his parents' twenty-fifth anniversary party Lavender had found that dancing with Seamus was one of her life's great pleasures, and he was equally enamored of dancing with her. He had made a point of finding clubs that played older standards and the kind of jazz that lent itself to the dancing they liked, slow and sensual.

"Shall we join them?" Nathanial Brown asked his wife.

As the two couples swayed and weaved in the middle of the room, Artemisia, Jasmine, and Rowan watched and nodded knowingly to each other. "Inside the year," Jasmine whispered to the other two. "Married in two," Rowan whispered back, smiling. "At the outside," Artemisia chuckled.

Lavender caught their eyes and mouthed, "Hope so," with a grin.

"Damn, forgot about that hearing thing," Jasmine said.

Lavender shook in a silent giggle.

After "Moondance" finished Lavender told the box, "Someone Like You", and then "Have I Told You Lately". Seamus dipped her and kissed her at the end of the last tune, and they stopped for some warm mulled cider.

"That's a marvelous present, Seamus," Sylvia told him. "Tell me about it, there's got to be a story, am I right?"

"Aye there is, and a good one," he said. "You see, after me mam and dad got together he found, like we all have, that the Muggle electronics have a hard time around magic."

Rowan chuckled. "Can't tell you how many mobiles I've gone through, drives Vodaphone nuts."

"Yeah, well there're some charms that help with that," Seamus told him. "Me mam's done some really great things along that line. Me brother, Mike has got a stereo set and a telly in our house, and they haven't blown up in what, must be eight years now."

"That's impressive," Artemisia said. "Why hasn't she published them?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. Guess she thought everyone'd figure it out eventually. She's Ravenclaw too you know," he said with a wink.

"Sounds like we need that Brown and Finnigan get together, hmm?" Sylvia said pointedly to her daughter.

"I'm sure Margaret would love that, Mum," Lavender told her. "Shay and I'll arrange it."

"Good. Well, back to the story, Seamus," Sylvia said.

"Aye, well Dad really missed havin' his music, especially his Van Morrison. I mean the wind up gramophone doesn't really do justice to modern records, so Mam made him a box. She sat by me uncle's stereo set for days putting the albums into it. Tricky business, that is. Have to play the songs one by one, and charm them into the box as they play. When she did it she hadn't done all the work on the electrical stuff, so she had to be really careful with the strength o' the charm, direction o' the spell, lots o' things like that. It takes a while. Fortunately I had a few three day periods I could devote to this project." He winked at Lavender. "I got all of Van's work in there, even his latest, and these are all off Mike's CDs, so they're really nice and clear."

"Who made the box itself? It's beautiful," Jasmine asked.

"Dad, Mike and me," he said proudly. Dad's quite handy with tools, and Mike, well he works down at Tree Farm. He got me that oak for the top and sides, and the ash on the bottom is from the Grove. We had to take down a tree a few years ago, and I wanted Lav to have a piece o' me home."

Lavender hugged him from his side. "You're stuck with me now, you know," she whispered in his ear.

"I'm good with that," he said, and got lost in her eyes.

"Hello in there," Rowan laughed. "Seamus, story."

"What, oh yeah, right," he chuckled. "So dad showed me how to use the planer and router. We have all these old foot powered tools in the shed you see, and then he showed me sanding and finishing. I did most o' that meself."

Lavender's father nodded. "Well I'm no carpenter, but I know my way round a shop. You did a fine job, Seamus," he said.

"Thanks, Nat, but I think Lav outdid me with this cloak." He turned to her. "How'd you get the knot work done?"

"Your mum," Lavender said with a smirk, "and Sheighly. You weren't the only one sneaking around on my Hogwarts days."

"Ooo, making friends with the family," Jasmine said, nudging her baby sister.

"Hey, they're nice," Lavender said honestly. "You'll see. We'll ask Margaret as soon as we can when we can have that two-family get together at the Grove. She'll be thrilled."

"Aye, she will," Seamus said. "Loves to show the place off, she does, and Nat, be prepared to have a never ending conversation on gardening." He turned to Mrs. Brown. "Sylvia, when Lav shows that book to Mam, she'll have questions about the recipes. I'm sure o' that."

"Tell her any time, Seamus. I'm thinking we should get to know each other," she said, with a look at her daughter and sly smile.

"Well I think I'd like to dance with Seamus," Jasmine said. "You mind, Lav?"

"Oh, I trust him," Lavender said, and lifted the lid on the box. "Here's a fast one for you, Jaz." She winked at Seamus. "Precious Time," she said to the box, and Seamus showed her sister what dancing was.

-~####

Two hours later Seamus sat on the rollaway bed crammed into Rowan's room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and what didn't have books had martial arts tools and weaponry. A large poster of Jet Li hung on one wall and a picture of Bruce Lee hung in a place of honor over his dresser. Several katana leaned in a corner, a staff was propped beside them, and two large knives hung on the back of the closed door. Seamus was impressed at the hardware, but even more impressed by Rowan's lack of exuberance over them. He thought most people he had met that had gotten into martial arts had some insecurity they were trying to compensate for, but Rowan had simply shrugged when Seamus had mentioned the swords. They were tools for his art, nothing more. He was proud of them for the beautiful objects they were, but that was as far as it went. "I can handle these pretty well; could probably take most anyone that didn't have a gun," Rowan had told him, "except my Sifu, I'd be better off hand to hand with him than trying to take him with one of these. He'd shove it up my arse." Seamus had laughed heartily.

As they prepared to settle down for bed Rowan cleared his throat. "So, Seamus, that's the most uncomfortable bed in the history of existence. Now I know with a flick of your wand you can make it as cushy as you like, but for now let's just be a couple of blokes, okay?"

Seamus looked at him, curious. "Alright, Rowan."

"I noticed a change in Lav about a month ago. She's… happy's not the right word… contented more like. I've been around enough that I suspect I know why."

Seamus smiled and set his wand on the bedside table. "If you're going to punch me for it, then let's get it over with."

Rowan laughed. "I do that and she'll kick _my_ arse." – He shook his head. – "No, what I was going to say is why don't you join her? It's just two doors down."

"Aye it'd be grand, Rowan, really it would, but it'd be poor manners," Seamus told him.

Rowan looked at him sternly. "Listen, Seamus. You freed me tonight too. Artie and Jaz may be staying tonight, but they moved out of the house as soon as they could. I stayed. Do you know why?"

Seamus looked at him for a moment and then it all became clear. "Lavender… and your mam," he said, awe creeping into his voice. "That's what all this is about." He indicated the martial arts paraphernalia. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, I had to stay and protect Lavender and Mum from him," Rowan said. "He's not so fast with his wand when he's drunk, but still I knew I needed an edge. I saw a Bruce Lee movie when I was a kid, 'Enter the Dragon,' ever seen it?" Seamus shook his head. "I'll show it to you some time. Anyway, I saw it when I was eight, and I knew that would be my edge. Turns out I kind of have a natural talent for it. My Sifu has asked me to move up to instructing the fourth-years, and the pay is better than I make pushing paper around for the Underground, so I think I'll be taking it." Rowan sat back and smiled. "I can move on now, I think. You see, there's this girl." His face lit up as he talked, and Seamus recognized his tone; Seamus wasn't the only young man in love in the house. "Her name is Janice Long. We've been dating for years, but I couldn't leave, not with Dad the way he was. Now I think I can. She'll be really happy. This has broken us up twice, but we've got back together now, and I won't lose her again. So I owe you; I owe you big, Mr. Finnigan." He snorted a laugh through his nose, just like Seamus had heard Lavender do a thousand times. "Just go on. You're adults and heroes, the both of you. You've earned it. Artie and Jaz'll be down in the sitting room gossiping and giggling till the wee hours, so go and get some cuddling in." Seamus nodded and smiled as he stood. "Yes sir," he said, saluting.

Rowan chuckled. "Besides, I'm sure she wants to thank you too."

"Should I come back here in the morning then?" Seamus asked as he gathered his pajamas from his satchel.

"Probably not a bad idea," Rowan answered. "This time at least."

"Well, Rowan, I just don't know what to say. I never expected this, and to make a friend like you… Thanks." He held out his hand.

Rowan took it and shook. "We'll be brothers soon enough."

Seamus laughed. "You know, everyone but Lav and me has been talking marriage. Can't say as I haven't thought about it. I have, recently – a lot, in fact." He looked into the distance and was gone for a moment.

Rowan smiled broadly, he'd seen the same look on Lavender's face just two days ago when he had joked with her about Seamus during one of their Kung Fu sessions. "She'd say yes, you know," he said quietly.

Seamus nodded. "Aye, I hope so, but I want to make it special." He dropped the pajamas on the rollaway and paced in the small space left in the room. "You know, romantic and perfect. She's had enough hardship and disappointments, she has. I want her to remember me slipping a ring on her finger forever."

"You'll do fine, Seamus," Rowan said. "If her reaction to the box is any indication, you know just how to make her happy, so go on, get out of here and make her happy."

"Okay," Seamus said as picked the pajamas back up and went to the door. "See you in the morning."

"Lav, Shay's coming," Rowan said in a slightly louder voice. At Seamus's concerned look he laughed and said, "Mum and Dad, and Artie and Jaz won't hear that," – he tapped his ear – "but she will. Go on."

As Seamus approached the door down the hall from Rowan's it opened. Lavender stood in the doorway. Her hair, illuminated by the small lamp in her room, glowed like a halo around her face. That same light shown through her nightgown, silhouetting her form. They didn't speak. Lavender smiled what Seamus called the "come hither" smile and they came together, like two magnets, falling into a passionate embrace. He kissed her like a man who hadn't seen his love in years; she kissed him with all the hunger in her wolf blood.

"Guess Luna was wrong," he said after a few moments, and then he closed the door behind them.

-~####

Rowan Brown had been born without magic into a pure blood family; it hadn't been easy for him. When they had taken him to St. Mungo's at age ten after he had shown no magic, the healers determined he was that rarest of pure blood magical births, a Muggle. He'd been given the same special charm to wear around his neck that they gave parents and siblings of Muggle born witches and wizards. It allowed access to the magical world for those without any ability at all. The hurt in his mother's eyes and the disappointment in his father's still haunted him, but his younger sister had been his salvation. Lavender adored her older brother, and she had told him, "It's okay, Rowan. When I go to Hogwarts and learn magic, I'll teach you everything." To her great disappointment she had found later that she couldn't teach him, but she could take him to Quidditch matches, ride her broom with him, and do a thousand other things that her older sisters had neglected to do. When she had been bitten he had been _her_ salvation. They had grown even closer during her training sessions. Her wolf self took to Kung Fu with a natural grace that amazed Rowan. Lavender had an intuitive grasp of the art, and after a few months it became apparent to him that she would be a formidable opponent should anyone be rash enough to attack her. But the fates had not been without compassion. His mother's family had "The Sight" as they called it. Rowan, an avid Stephen King fan, called it "The Shine", and he had a strong case of it.

It came to him in dreams. They were rare, but very powerful. He knew, even during the dreams, that these were different from normal dreams. They didn't tell a story exactly, they were more like little snippets of a movie, vivid and life-like, but sometimes out of order and jumbled. And on this night Rowan dreamt.

Lavender was standing at an altar, and a woman Rowan recognized, but couldn't place, stood behind the low table. Seamus, dressed in his Irish finery, stood opposite Lavender. As the scene became clearer, Rowan recognized he was seeing their wedding. A large stone house stood across a manicured lawn from where Seamus and Lavender stood.

The scene changed. Janice was looking up at him with shining eyes. She held a small empty velvet box in her hand.

They were making love in her flat.

His mother was hugging Lavender in the kitchen and weeping tears of joy. "I'm so happy for you; he's such a good man," he heard his mother say. His father, thinner and fitter than he could ever remember him being, stood smiling from ear to ear next to the table.

He and Lavender were sparring in a dojo. He was giving it his all, and still she was besting him. At last he was face up on the mat, pinned by his sister half his size. They collapsed in a heap, laughing.

"I do," said Janice's face.

A blonde woman with misty blue eyes was looking at him and smiling. _You are very strong, aren't you_? her voice said in his head.

Seamus sat next to a hospital bed reading a book. Lavender was in the bed sleeping.

Rowan woke and looked at the clock, it was just past three. He smiled and nodded to himself. _Today, Janice,_ he thought.

-~####

Lavender dreamt that night too. Like her brother, she too "shone", but her gift was muted, distant, and she rarely remembered the prophetic dreams. This night, however, the dreams were vivid and realistic.

She knew this dream; she'd had it so many times. "_Reducto!"_ she shouted, and another Death Eater died, his head exploding in a spray of gore. _Seventy-four,_ she thought, _more or less_. The stairs were slippery with blood and bits of the fallen, and she was hanging on to the banister to keep from falling when another curse connected with the underside of the stairs. They collapsed, sending her fifty feet to the rubble below, and her world was pain. As she struggled to crawl from the stones a nightmare of fangs and claws came out of nowhere. Its teeth sank into her side, and its claws raked across her chest and leg. A strange feeling set fire to her blood, and she felt the curse flow into her.

"NO!" Hermione's voice boomed and Greyback was thrown against the wall. Then Seamus was there.

"Lav, Lav, stay with me." She felt herself lifted from the floor and he was off at a run. "Don't give up," he said breathlessly as he ran. "I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey." She moaned in his arms as every time his foot came down it jarred her battered body. He kicked open the doors to the great hall and ran to the raised platform where the professors usually sat. She was carefully laid on the table and Madam Pomfrey was there in seconds.

"A werewolf bite," she heard her say. "Broken bones, concussion, internal bleeding: you've moved to the front of the queue, Miss Brown." Madam Pomfrey laid her hand on Lavender's. "This will hurt a little, _Renovo Os!" _Lavender a flare of agony she felt her bones resetting. "Cursed wounds," the old woman muttered. "Step back, Mr. Finnigan."

"Will she live?" she heard Seamus ask, through the fog of pain.

"_Cruor Repleo_! We'll try, Mr. Finnigan," Madam Pomfrey's voice said, and Lavender could hear the doubt in it. "Why don't you go and make sure she has a world to wake up to? _Hemragis Termino!_"

"Aye, I'll do just that," Seamus said in a cold, hard voice.

Madam Pomfrey leaned over her. "Drink this," she commanded, and a foul tasting potion was poured down her throat. Suddenly most of her pain vanished and she felt as if she could sleep forever. "MR. GOLDSTIEN I NEED YOU!" Madam Pomfey shouted. "Take a nap, Miss Brown._ Somnus!_" was the last thing Lavender heard that night.

The dream usually ended there. Lavender would wake in a cold sweat, and clutch her pillow for an hour or more while she calmed, but this time was different. This time a new vision formed before her. Seamus was pushing her on the swing at the Grove.

"You've changed me life, Lav," he said. "I was lost, after the war, I had really lost me way, and then you changed it all. Me mam, me brother, the whole family loves you, just like I do."

Her heart soared.

"I've thought a lot about our future, I have. I want you to have a great life, and I think I can help you have it. I know you as well as anyone, and love you more than the Earth loves the sky. I will be by your side as long as you'll have me. I'll love you, hold you when you're sad, and laugh with you when you're happy. You've got a job you love, and if you decide to move on, Harry and Kingsley have made it plain they expect us at the Ministry if we go looking for work. I've not wasted my awards. As much fun as I've had, I've still got a fair few galleons in the vault, and I'll wager you've got even more. We will live a charmed life." The swing stopped and Seamus stepped around in front of her. "Lavender…"

The lawn at the Grove was set for a party, and a small crowd gathered in and around a pavilion. She was standing in the front of the pavilion, Luna was playing a beautiful piece on the piano, and Lavender could feel herself smiling.

She awoke with Seamus quietly snoring by her side. His chest gently rose and fell under her head, and she could hear the steady beat of his heart in her left ear. Her right arm was draped across his torso, and her right leg was entwined in his left. The light of the lone candle in the room made the sandy colored hair on his chest glow with a golden fire, and she absentmindedly twirled her fingers in it. _Has it only been a month?_ She thought to herself and smiled. They'd made love for the first time after she'd come back from her monthly Hogwarts visit the cycle before the last one, and Lavender had been very concerned that once Seamus had seen her less than perfect body he would be repelled, but instead he had worshiped her. He had found the scars erotic and enticing, and he had also discovered that they had become an erogenous area all their own. When he kissed and stroked his way along them as they crossed her chest, or along her thigh it made her whole body tingle in just the right manner. The clock on her dresser said half six. She smiled as she casually traced her finger from his breast bone to his navel, and then slowly slid the sheet down his body. It was early, they had time.

-~####

Seamus dreamt of an angry beast chasing him down a hallway. "I'm sorry," he kept shouting, but he couldn't remember why. Golden eyes shone behind him as he ran. He was suddenly cornered, and he raised his empty hands to fight, but the beast had changed. Lavender was before him. She stroked her hands down his sides, and across his stomach. "You are forgiven," she said. "I love you, my stupidly brave Gryffindor."

He closed his eyes as she kissed him. He felt her head on his chest, the soft stroke of her hand on his stomach, then his legs. He reached down and threaded his fingers in her hair, and something warm and wonderful took him. His eyes drifted open and he realized he was awake. Seamus smiled.

The soft rapping on Rowan's door woke him. He rolled over and looked at the clock. Five minutes to seven, it said. "Cutting it a bit fine, eh Seamus," he muttered with a smirk. "Come on in," he said a bit louder. The door opened and Seamus entered. His hair was completely mussed, his pajama top was on inside out, and it had been buttoned wrong. Rowan burst into laughter. "You should take a shower and wash that 'just been fucked' look off you or Mum at least will know," he said, and dissolved into chuckles again.

"Aye, probably a good idea, Rowan, but Lav's in there just now," Seamus said. "I shouldn't think meeting your mum or dad, the two of us coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, would be a good start to the morning either."

"When'd she get in?"

"Oh just few minutes ago."

Rowan rose from his bed. "I'll hurry her along. She's actually pretty quick about it really. I suppose being the third girl and the fourth kid made her have to be." He opened the door and stepped out. "I'll be right back."


	4. I Remember one Christmas Morning

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 4

I Remember One Christmas Morning

Sylvia Brown was humming happily to herself as Seamus and Lavender entered the kitchen. She flicked her wand over her shoulder and a large frying pan flew from a cabinet, and did a very graceful and completely unnecessary pirouette in mid air before coming to rest over a burner on the stove. A second flick and the fire lit under the pan.

"I'll get the bacon then shall I, Mum?" Lavender asked her.

Her mother, startled from her thoughts, jumped a little and said, "Oh that would be lovely, Lavender dear." She looked at Seamus. "Merry Christmas, Seamus. Sleep well?" she asked, and turned back to her cooking.

Seamus smiled at Lavender. "Very," he answered.

"Oh that's nice, I did too." She laughed a little to herself and muttered very quietly, "When we finally slept."

Lavender almost dropped the bacon as she laid it on the counter next to her mother. She gave a surprised look at Seamus who simply smiled back and chuckled.

"Well how do you like your breakfast, Seamus?" Mrs. Brown asked, while she slid several rashers into the pan. "I've got it all here; eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, beans, mushrooms, and I've even got some tomatoes if you like.

She still had her back to them and Seamus looked lustily at Lavender. "I think I'll have some o' everything if you please, Sylvia. I seem to have worked up a powerful hunger."

"Alright then," Lavender's mother said, oblivious to the reddening girl next to her. "How would you like your eggs?

"Fried would be lovely."

"And you, Lavender?" her mother asked.

"Same as Shay, mum," Lavender answered. "I seem to have worked up a powerful hunger too." Then it was Seamus's turn to blush.

Sylvia waved her wand at another cabinet, and a basket of eggs flew to her other hand. "Well let me just get these on, and then I'll get the wireless warmed up. There'll be nice Christmas music on the Wizarding Wireless Network, and at three it'll be time for the Queen's speech."

"Wonder what'd be on her mind this year?" Seamus said. "Probably something about the turning o' the millennium and how we… well _you_," he laughed, "can build a brighter future."

"I expect you're correct Seamus," Sylvia replied as she cracked the eggs into a frying pan that was already heated on the stove. "At least nothing awful has happened this year like it did in ninety-two. That really was a dreadful year for her."

"Aye, I felt very bad for her as we listened that year," Seamus said, genuine concern coloring his voice. "The fire at Windsor, all the kids having troubles in their marriages, it was bad. Not as bad as ninety-seven though. Still hard to believe that happened to Diana, thought we had a detail from the Aurors watching out for her and the other royals."

"I'm sure… he… Riddle," – Lavender nearly spat – "had the guard withdrawn. Hell, he might have even murdered her himself given how he felt about Muggles."

"Never thought about that," Seamus said, surprised. "Course we didn't hear about it for days, as we were locked up for our first week at Hogwarts with a bunch of Death Eaters."

"And you were getting yourself cursed right and left by those very same Death Eaters," Lavender said, while she drew a finger lovingly along a faint scar that went from his left ear to his chin.

Seamus chuckled. "Well now my dear pot, this kettle here seems to recall you and Miss Bullstrode having a duel in the middle o' the fourth floor hallway, second day."

She snorted and smiled back smugly. "Wasn't much of a duel," she said softly, and then patted his cheek. "Who was it got carried off to Flitwick?"

"Aye, you have me there, love," he laughed. "She wanted very much to kill you after that. I think professor Flitwick purposely dallied undoing your hex. Let her stew in it a bit. Tell your mam what you did." He turned to Mrs. Brown. "The girl earned it."

"Yes she did," Lavender said haughtily. "Remember? You were there. She insulted Harry, Neville, you, Ron, Hermione, the whole of the DA really." Lavender paused, shook her head, and looked at her mother who had turned from the stove. "She asked me, 'what are all you blood traitors going to do without your sainted Dumbledore and his toady Potter? What, do you think Weasley and the mudblood whore are going to save you and the rest of your group of idiots? Who've you got then? That moron Longbottom there? Finnigan the walking disaster?" Lavender smiled wickedly. "I told her she might want to shut her mouth for once, then I may have made a rather impolite reference to her weight and choice of profession, I know I asked her if anyone could find her… well, she went for her wand."

"That was a bad idea on her part," Seamus said to Sylvia, and shook his head. "Lav's quicker on the draw than anyone but Harry, and she doesn't miss, ever."

"I hit her with _Petrificus Totalus,_ and _Rictusempra_ back to back." Lavender laughed. "Combined together it's pretty torturous Don't blame her for being hacked at me." Her face fell. "She came back with her father during the attack, you know, one of only four students that fought for the other side. She tried to kill Parv." Lavender's face hardened as she raised her eyes to her mother. "She's one of the ones I killed that night. I don't regret doing it, but I wish she hadn't made me."

Lavender remembered.

The battle was raging. The spiders had driven her and Parvati from their post on the fourth floor, and they were in a running duel with four Death Eaters as they made their way toward the front of the castle. The wall next to Lavender shuddered as some curse connected to it from outside. The cloaked figures following them stumbled as the floor shook, and the two young women turned, seizing the advantage.

"_Incendio!_" Parvati shouted.

"_Diffindo!_" Lavender spat, slashing her wand at them.

Two of the Death eaters burst into flame. "_Incarcerous,_" Parvati followed. Thick ropes bound them, and the black-robed figures screamed as they burned.

Of the remaining two, the first had fallen in two pieces, cut in half across his chest. The second Death Eater's head and right arm had simply dropped from his shoulders to the floor.

Lavender looked at Parvati, who stood rooted, her brain in overload. Parvati told her later that they had killed so many she had lost count early on. Her tally had been in the mid twenties, and she knew Lavender was well ahead of her even then. She hadn't even registered what was happening when Lavender shoved her to the floor to save her from the bright green _Avada Kedavra_ that shattered a sconce on the wall where her head had just been. Parvati heard Lavender shout "_Reducto!"_, and as she rolled over she had seen Millicent Bulstrode's eyes fly wide as the curse connected to her chest. A moment later the walls were painted with her blood. Millicent's father stepped into the hallway crying her name, then he started to raise his wand toward Lavender and met the same fate as his daughter.

Lavender pulled Parvati to her feet, and hugged her. "Six less now," she said, a grim smile on her face. "Let's get to the front doors." Parvati nodded, and they were off at a run.

Seamus remembered, too.

The Dark Lord had totally failed to anticipate the strength of the Hogwarts resistance. Neville had prepared them, shaped them into a guerilla fighting force without mercy, and unlike the Dark Lord, Neville had been planning his strategy for most of the year. The first wave of Death Eaters had stormed across the heath between the gates and the castle only to be assaulted by a barrage of curses from behind rocks, battlements, trees, anywhere a defender could hide. The adage "old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill every time" proved false in the face of a ruthless youth that was unleashed upon an older, undisciplined, unpracticed, and poorly directed mob. That first charge fell almost immediately. Neville had anticipated that the Dark Lord would be surprised by this, then bring out his stronger weapons, and so he had.

As the second wave, led by the giants and the werewolves, charged across the heath, the Hogwarts ground forces melted back to the castle. The oncoming dark forces didn't realize their position of weakness on the field, exposed to their opponents who held the high ground, until it was too late. It became clear to them when an unrelenting barrage shot down from the castle walls and towers. At the top of Ravenclaw tower Padma had directed her charges to shower the oncoming hoard with tripping jinxes and freezing charms. While those in Voldemort's service tried to undo the charms, death rained on them from the fourth floor as Parvati and Lavender lashed out with fire and stones. Lavender's _Incendio_ streaked down into the heart of the mob and consumed dozens at once, and then Parvati had followed with a shower of tons of boulders. Lavender's ensuing _Incarcerous_ had bound a giant's legs together, and in a slow motion fall that would have been funny in other circumstances it crushed ten Death Eaters.

Fully a third of Voldemort's forces had been incapacitated or killed in the first five minutes, but he would not be denied his prize. With shields and spells the third wave reached the base of the castle. A contingent of Death eaters on brooms swept toward the castle, and a cheer went up from the swarm that had reached the gates to the courtyard. It died in their throats as Cho Chang, Oliver Wood, the whole of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and most of the Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff teams shot over the battlements wands blazing. Oliver had managed to bring all of his team's brooms with him, and the young riders made the most of them. Seamus had always admired Cho's ability on the broom, and as he watched from his position in the courtyard she sliced through the dark forces with a combination of skill and raw talent that was breathtaking.

Seamus stood with Professor Flitwick, Luna, Dean and eight other students in front of the doors to the castle. When the Death Eaters breached the gates and stormed into the courtyard, they were met by a strange sight. The professor and ten of his students standing on the steps with wands held over their heads pointing up. The leader of the group walked confidently to the base of the stairs and pointed his wand at Flitwick.

Seamus had smiled, and said in his bright Irish brogue, "Sure and that'd be a very bad idea for you." Then he looked up, and the Death Eater followed his gaze. A slab of granite three feet thick floated thirty feet above the courtyard. "Me name's Seamus Finnigan, you've met professor Flitwick I'll wager. Now, you could surrender, or you could try your luck. What'll it be?"

The Death Eater had twitched back toward Flitwick with his wand, and the Hogwartian defenders dissolved the levitation spell. The lead Death Eater jumped to the stairs just in time, but his fellows barely slowed the giant slab as it rushed to join the pavement. The man in the silver mask had dropped his wand, and it lay with his friends in the rubble. He drew a long silver knife and charged. Dean stepped forward, shoved the business end of a double-barreled Muggle shotgun in the man's face, and without a moment's hesitation pulled both triggers.

As the headless corpse fell to the ground Professor Flitwick had commented blithely, "Crude, but effective."

"Back into the castle," he ordered, as another wave charged into the courtyard. The little coin at Seamus's neck glowed hot for a moment and he looked at the message: "Mandrakes", it said.

"The Mandrakes!" Seamus shouted.

Professor Flitwick waved his wand at the doors and they slammed shut against the oncoming black-robed figures. A second loud incantation and Seamus's world went silent. A few moments later the coin warmed again. "Done."

Seamus nodded to Professor Flitwick, and the old man cancelled the spell.

Sylvia Brown looked on in sorrow at the two young people in front of her. They were obviously lost in the memories of that night. _It's so unfair,_ she thought, _that these two should have these memories that consume them, so unfair._

Lavender came back to herself and smiled at her mother's expression. "It's okay, Mum. She made her choice. Parkinson and Zabini at least had enough sense to bugger off."

Seamus snapped from his own reverie and hugged her to his side. "Yeah those two were never true believers anyway. Blaise is just interested in getting lai… uh, girls, and Parkinson? I don't think she'd risk her life to save her own family, much less for Voldemort." At Mrs. Brown's flinch he laughed. "Sorry, Sylvia; Harry, Ron, and Hermione are wearing off on me." He turned to Lavender. "'S all over now though, isn't it love? We're here, they're not."

Lavender suddenly found herself being hugged fiercely by her mother. "Please, Lavender, please don't ever put yourself in a situation like that again," she said, almost in tears. "It was so awful, what you had to do, and you were in such terrible danger, and then… " She drew a shuddering breath. "I just couldn't bear to lose you. I love you so much, Lavender. You're our baby." She stopped and wiped a few tears from her face. "You really have no idea how much you scared us all."

Lavender patted her mother's back and waved her wand at the pan. A shower of the butter rose from the pan and basted the tops of the eggs. "Oh, I have a pretty good idea, but I'm not making any promises, Mum," she said, and held her out at arm's length looking her in the eyes. "Gryffindor, you know."

"Will you please keep her out of trouble, Seamus?" Mrs. Brown said as she turned back to the stove.

"Aye, well, Sylvia," he said with a sigh, "perhaps you didn't notice the crimson and gold on that scarf you got me then?"

Mrs. Brown just shook her head and sighed in defeat. "Here's your eggs, I'll go and get the wireless turned on," she said. "Lavender, could you serve please?"

Lavender waved her wand at the stove. Two eggs gently laid themselves on one plate and three on another. A second flick and three sausages, two strips of bacon, a dollop of beans, a spoonful of mushrooms, and a grilled tomato half arranged themselves on each plate. Lastly the toast dealt itself into the toast tray and flew to the table followed by the two plates.

"Haven't had a proper breakfast in weeks, thanks love," Seamus said. "'S usually just tea and toast for me."

"So I've noticed," Lavender said quietly

As they stood in the kitchen staring into each other's eyes they didn't see Rowan quietly slip into the room and sit at the table. "Mmm breakfast," he said, and tucked in to one of the plates on the table.

Lavender turned and huffed, "Rowan!"

Seamus laughed. "It's ok, love. You have the other and I'll just whip up another set o' eggs." He nodded to Rowan. "Merry Christmas to you, Rowan," he said, and slid the pan back on the burner then grabbed three eggs from the basket. "Dad taught me well." The eggs hit the pan and Seamus fixed the rest of his plate as they cooked.

"What's going on here?" Mrs. Brown asked as she came back into the kitchen. "Rowan did you nick Seamus's breakfast?"

Seamus drew his wand and basted the eggs in the pan.

"There's the quick and the hungry in the Brown House," Rowan said through a mouthful of toast.

"It's alright, Sylvia," Seamus said. "Like I told Rowan and Lav, me dad taught me well how to fry an egg. Would you care for me to make you some? You've been at the stove for most o' two days now." He slid the three eggs onto his plate joining the beans, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, and tomato.

"I can manage, thank you," Mrs. Brown said. "You join my thieving son." She shot Rowan a sidelong look, and turned to the stove Seamus had just left to sit next to Lavender. "How'd you sleep, Rowan. I know you're used to having your room to yourself, must've been odd having another person with you."

Rowan smirked at Lavender and Seamus. "Ah it was just fine, mum," and he shook in silent laughter. "Was like he wasn't there at all."

Lavender kicked him under the table.

Rowan flinched but the smile never left his face.

"Smells wonderful, Sylv," Nathanial said as he entered the kitchen. The older man walked up behind his wife, slid his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "I love you," he said quietly to her.

Sylvia laid her head back on his shoulder, crossed her hand over his, and patted them. "I'll just scramble six then?" she asked dreamily.

"Be lovely, Sylv," he said and kissed her cheek again. He released her and turned to the table full of smiling young people. He smirked and jokingly said, "What you lot lookin' at?" before sitting and taking a slice from the tray.

"Merry Christmas, Nat, how's your morning?" Seamus asked him as he buttered his toast.

"Best in a good while, Seamus. Yours?" he replied.

"Aye, well any morning with Lav is a good one," Seamus said, looking at the girl in question.

"Lavender mentioned you two running off this morning. What're you doing today, besides dinner with us?" Mr. Brown asked him.

"Lav says there're some things in Ipswich she wants to show me," Seamus answered

Lavender looked at her father. "I'd like to take him down to see the tree and carol singers."

"Ah, I haven't been to see the carol singing in years," Nathanial said, smiling with nostalgia. "Enjoy yourselves."

"Just be back by half eleven," his wife added. "I've a turkey, a ham and a joint of beef plus all the side dishes. I'll need Lavender to help me get it out, and we'll need all the help we can eating it."

"And I'll be proud to offer my services, Sylvia, that I will," Seamus said. "Tea, Nat?" he asked Lavender's father while he filled his own cup.

"Yes please, Seamus." While Seamus filled his cup he asked, "We need anything while they're in town, Sylv?"

"Oh yes," Sylvia said brightly. "If the old Muggle man is there by the tree with his roasted chestnuts, get me a bag before you come back. He does something to them, I don't know what, but they are the best."

Seamus nodded his head. "Soaks them in seawater and sugar I'll wager. There's an old Muggle in Dublin does them that way," he said between bites. "Excellent sausages, Sylvia; where'd you get them?"

"Aren't they wonderful?" she answered. "I always hated the ones we got round here, too soft. These are from Amesbury. There are all those pig farms out by Stonehenge, and they make the best sausages on earth. It's where I get my bacon too."

"Only been to Stonehenge once," Seamus said. "Was crowded with Muggles." He smirked and nodded. "Even they could feel the magic o' the place though. They were so quiet, like in a church. I've been to Avebury a few times, I have. The wizard who owns the Red Dragon pub there is a friend o' me mam's from her Hogwarts days."

"I've always liked Avebury better," Nathanial said. "I suppose it helps that it's a village entirely populated with magical folk. It's funny seeing the Muggles wander among the stones trying to figure out how we got them there." His smile faded. "My father was there the night they drove Hitler back."

"I don't think Shay knows that story, Dad," Lavender said.

He looked puzzled. "They didn't cover it in Muggle studies?"

"Professor Burbage was probably going to talk about it seventh year, but that fat fu.." Lavender cleared her throat. "Alecto Carrow, who Neville shoved a sword through thank you very much, didn't think it important."

"Well, Seamus. You know of the second world war among the Muggles?" Mr. Brown asked.

"Aye, Nat, I do." He answered. "Me grandpa on me da's side was in it."

"Good for him. We were too." Nathanial looked very serious. "They found out from the German Wizardry that Hitler was planning to invade England. So one dark night a good portion of English Wizardry gathered at Avebury." He closed his eyes, and his voice became low and gravely. "Five thousand strong they were, and they raised the great cone of power. The charm was so strong the effort killed a few of the eldest, but they knew what they were doing, and what it might cost." He opened his eyes, and his expression changed to a satisfied and vengeful smirk. "Everything Hitler did after that failed. The German Wizardry lied to him about, well, everything. He got bogged down in Russia, the Allies routed him from Italy, and then came D-Day. They never credit us with the fog, but we did that too. The Germans didn't see the Allied forces coming till they were nearly at the beach."

"The German Wizardry wasn't on his side?" Seamus asked.

"Some were at the beginning, Grindelwald for one, but even he saw the madness for what it was."

Sylvia Brown watched her husband and Seamus talk as they ate. They spoke as equals, as friends. An older man telling a younger about the history of his people, and it occurred to her that this was an eternal scene, one that had played itself out millions of times through the millennia. It was timeless and real. She glowed with pride for her husband who had come so far in what were really only a few short hours, and for her daughter who had chosen so well. As she magicked the dishes from the table someone turned the volume up on the wireless in the sitting room. Celestina Warbeck was just finishing _All I want for Christmas is a good wizard_.

_He'll make me tea,_

_He'll love my dog,_

_He'll warm my nights,_

_And be there when I'm old._

_Yes, old Saint Nick,_

_All I want for Christmas is a good wizard. _

"Why that woman is famous I can't imagine," Lavender's mother said as she enchanted the pan-scrubber. "She's a pleasant enough voice I suppose, but her delivery is just so over the top, and the songs!" She shook her head. "They're all about men and love. I wish we had a woman singer that sang about something else, like our stories for instance."

Seamus laughed. "Well we sort of have a limited pool to draw on, Sylvia. There's only so many magic folk with musical talent, and not all o' those folks want to perform for people." He shrugged. "Unknown Eclipse is doing a rock opera about Harry though, that should be interesting."

"They're not bad," Jasmine said as she entered the kitchen. Her hair was a wild mess and there were still marks on her face from the pillow. "Although that dreck they wrote about the tales of Merlin was just awful."

"Hey, I liked _The Song of Nimue_," Lavender said from her chair.

Jasmine looked at her in horror. "You're joking, right. It was utter dreck, Lavender."

Lavender stared down her older sister. "No it wasn't. There were some great songs on that record. Tell her, Shay."

Both of the Brown men turned to Seamus and smiled as he looked from Lavender to Jasmine and back. "I... um... you see..." he stammered. "I'd very much like to stay on the good side o' both of you, so I'll be keeping me opinion to meself," – he turned to Lavender – "if you don't mind, love."

Nathanial and Rowan Brown burst into laughter. "Well dodged, Seamus!" Rowan said, and clapped him on the back. "Took me years to figure out not to get between any of the women when they're disagreeing."

Lavender smiled and laid her hand over his. "It's alright, Shay. I know what you think." She turned to her sister. "Sit, your hair's a mess!"

Jasmine sat in the chair next to Seamus as Lavender stood. With a casual, practiced skill she pulled her wand, muttered an incantation Seamus had never heard, and brushed the soft, brown glow that formed around her wand-tip down her sister's hair. In moments Jasmine's hair was perfect, not a strand out of place.

"I'm next," Artemisia said as she entered the room. If possible her hair was in wilder disarray than her sister's had been. She sat next to Jasmine, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes.

Seamus chuckled at her. "Didn't know you were a hairdresser?"

Artemisia sighed contentedly in the chair as Lavender charmed her hair and the tangles fell out. "First charm we taught her after she got her wand."

"Lav and I escaped the curse of the Brown hair," Rowan told Seamus. "Dad's family has this wickedly curly hair. Mum's genes moderated it a bit, but these two have fought with it their whole lives."

"Yeah, It's just curly enough to tangle spectacularly while we sleep," Jasmine said. "If I wasn't a witch I'd shave my head."

Seamus laughed. "That'd be a shame, that would. You've great hair, all o' you ladies. Although I must say Lav's is my favorite."

"Yes, we all know she has great hair," Jasmine said, a note of exasperation coloring her voice.

"And this is the point where you stop talking about Lavender's hair, Seamus," Rowan said, barely containing his humor.

Seamus nodded to him. "Aye, thanks, Rowan. I can see where that would be a good idea."

Nathanial Brown could hold his laughter in no longer. It erupted from him in great waves. Rowan joined in, and soon the whole of the kitchen was filled with it. Tears streamed down Nathanial's face and Jasmine was struggling for breath. Lavender's mother was the first to recover.

"I haven't laughed like that in years, this is truly a happy Christmas," she said.

"Yes it is," Rowan said, and turned to his mother. "I've got an errand to run this morning too, Mum, but I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner."

His father looked at him. "What are you up to, Son?"

Rowan smiled cryptically. "It's a surprise. I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

Nathanial nodded. "Well then, best get on with it. We'll see you later then."

Lavender stood and gathered their dishes from the table. "We'd best be off too if we're getting back by noon."

"Eleven-thirty," her mother said.

"Then let's be off," Lavender said as she pulled Seamus to his feet. "We'll be sure to have some nice hot chestnuts for you when we Apparate back, Mum"

"Have a good time, dears," Mrs. Brown said. "And remember, eleven-thirty."

Seamus drew his watch from his pocket and tapped it with his wand. "We'll be reminded," he told her. "_Accio."_ His new cloak along with Lavender's flew into the room and landed in his outstretched arms. "Here you are, love," he said as he draped Lavender's around her. With a flourish he swept his over his shoulders and fastened the clasp. "How do I look?" he asked Lavender.

"Like the handsome hero you are," she said, and took his hand. "Half past eleven, Mum." And with a snap they were gone.


	5. A Winter's Light and a Distant Chior

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 5

And A Distant Choir

The first thing Seamus saw when they folded back into reality was dingy, snowy alleyway. The rubbish bins were overflowing and the smell was barely contained by the cold weather. "Beautiful," he commented, and Lavender slapped his arm.

"Just wait till we get out in the square, Shay." She took his hand and led him from the alley.

They heard the carol singers well before they reached the square. When they turned the corner out of the small alley they found themselves on Princes Street. Lavender led him to the square, and they were greeted by the sight of a large crowd gathered around a brightly lit tree in the town centre. A group was just finishing _Three Ships_.

"I really like that one," Lavender told him, and snuggled under his arm. They walked toward the crowd and Seamus took in more of the surroundings. The large town square was gaily decorated for the season. Garland, fairy lights, and all manner of finery hung from the buildings and lamp posts. The snow covered any flaws there may have been, and it occurred to Seamus that he was walking through a painting of Christmas past.

"Lovely. Really, Lav, it's lovely," he told her. The next group started _The Carol of the Bells._ "Remember when Flitwick had the choir at school do this one?" he asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "That was the first time I heard Luna sing. It was quite a surprise."

Seamus nodded. "It's good she has such a lovely voice, she sings almost constantly around the flat these days."

"I've noticed she's also mostly naked around the flat these days too," Lavender said with a smirk.

Seamus smiled at her and rolled his eyes. "A lot of the time, yeah," he said with a chuckle. "That was one of the things I was a bit unprepared for. When Dean told me that she was prone to walk out of their room without a stitch on I thought it'd happen once in a while, not once a day. I'm a bit numb to it now though. Besides, they did warn me about it."

Lavender laughed with him. Dean and Luna had come to an agreement with Seamus, and then Lavender as she spent more and more time at the flat, that clothing was optional in the flat after ten, at least for them.

"You were never tempted?" Lavender asked.

"What, to join in?" he asked. "No, I'm a wee bit more bashful than that. Don't mind bein' bare with you, but I like at least a little bit o' clothing around other folks. Besides I… well, suffer when compared to Dean," he said reddening.

Lavender laughed and smiled at him. "All men suffer when compared to Dean, don't worry, you're just perfect Shay." She laughed again. "Really with his, um… gift it sort of limits the possibilities."

Seamus chuckled. "Luna doesn't seem to mind."

"Yes, well she's had time to get used to it. Believe me there is such a thing as too big."

"Good to know," he said, smiling. "But do you mind if we change the subject from me best mate's… not so little friend?"

"Sure," she laughed, and led him into the throng around the tree. "Sorry for the crowd, I know you don't like them, but it is that time of year."

"I'll make do," he said. "Besides I'd follow you anywhere, me lass." He kissed her hand.

Lavender's heart did a little flip. It was still so strange to her, that he could make her breath short and her mind go blank from such a little thing. "Thanks," she said, "but you may regret that one day. I…" her eyes went unfocused, and she unconsciously sniffed the air. She caught a familiar scent. Thousands of scents were in the air, but this one stood out.

Seamus stopped in his tracks and looked at her, concerned. She was standing stock still, eyes closed, the expression of trying to place a memory on her face. "What's wrong, Lav?" he asked.

Lavender came back to herself. "Let's get out of the crowd," she said, and quickly led him to another narrow side street. She found an unoccupied doorway and drew him into it. "My sweet caught a scent." She looked at him wide eyed. "I've never had that happen; it just stopped me where I stood. Shay, there's someone else here, someone magical." She rocked back and forth in the doorway and fidgeted with her fingers. That smell… I can place it… it's… the pain potion!" She bounced on her toes for a moment, and Seamus stifled a laugh. Her similarity to an excited dog was too funny. "It's not Poppy's, or the stuff they make at St. Mungo's. Hmm, that's interesting." She closed her eyes in concentration. "There's something more though, something more familiar than that. Something I've scented before…" Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Yes, that's it. My sweet hasn't smelled this, I have! Yeah, she definitely doesn't like… her! Her perfume. It's a woman!" Lavender stuck her head out of the doorway. "Something's not right, Shay. My sweet and I are feeling all… prickly. Do you think you could manage the crowd again? Whoever it is in there somewhere, I think."

"And you think she's dangerous?"

Lavender nodded grimly. "It's one of _those things_. My sweet just knows."

Seamus palmed his wand up his sleeve. "Dumbledore's Army, we are. Let's go." Lavender saw his battle face appear.

Her heart did the little flip again. Standing before her was her knight, her paladin. He would follow her to the gates of hell and beyond, all she need do was ask. As she allowed herself to feel the love for Seamus that was filling her, she became aware of another emotion, one from her wolfself. _Mate, pack, and belonging_ were all wrapped up in this one sensation, a feeling of completeness. Lavender smiled wryly; all the work she and Luna had been doing was working. Lavender and her wolf were becoming one. They always had been, but most people are never aware of the animal that lives within. It only emerges in the darkest moments, in fear and hate, but Lavender knew the beast well. She knew her wolfself would rise at a moment's notice if Seamus or one of her friends or family was threatened. Lavender knew her wolf shared her intellect, shared her thoughts, and shared her heart. That was what the wolf got in return, and as they became more and more integrated Lavender found that this animal force within her had been the source of her fire, her fierce loyalty, and her physical skill. It was only when she had been bitten that it was able to come forward and declare itself, for at last it had a name: _my sweet._

She met Seamus's expression and pushed her way back into the mass of people. The scent of the perfume was almost masking the potion, but whoever it was had been using a lot of the potion. It was coming out of them in their sweat. As they treaded their way through the loose crowd she surreptitiously scanned the people near her. The full moon was just a few days past and her senses were still more acute than their normal augmented ability. Slowly, so it would appear to the casual observer that they were just wandering and enjoying the singers, she followed the scent. A rustling of the tree branches about twenty feet away drew her attention, and she noticed the branches bending around an unseen body.

"Someone's under a Disillusion charm next to the tree," she whispered to Seamus. Carefully, so as not to be noticed, he looked where she directed.

"Aye, I see it," he whispered from the side of his mouth. "Let's move back and make a plan."

They made their way to the pavement and slipped into a doorway.

I'll take point, you come round from behind," he said. "This may just be someone not wanting to be seen in Muggle public. I'll ask, but if you suspect something, stun first; we'll ask questions later."

Lavender slipped back into the crowd and circled around to the back of the tree. Seamus moved into the crowd and appeared to be gawking at the decorations in the square, but he never let the place where they suspected the unseen witch to be out of his sight. When he saw Lavender round the tree and come up behind the unseen woman he moved toward her. Smiling wide and whistling _What Child is This, _he purposefully marched toward the spot, hoping to draw the woman's attention. When he was five feet away he stopped and stared at the empty space.

Lavender had put the tree between herself and their unseen foe. She watched Seamus wander into the midst of the crowd. He was so good. The impression he gave of a simple countryman in awe of Ipswich's Christmas finery was spot on, but she could see that he was tracking her position from moment to moment, and he always had an eye on the spot where the witch they were interested in stood. Lavender did a quick _Confundus_ on the Muggles nearest her as she approached the woman from behind. Suddenly she realized she could see her in a way. The Disillusionment charm hid the woman from sight, but if she concentrated a little Lavender found that she could see part way into the infrared. The heat waves rolled off the woman and shimmered in the air around her. She was outlined perfectly in the rippling heat. It took a moment for her mind to make sense of what she was seeing, but then Lavender could see that the witch was indeed watching Seamus as he nonchalantly wandered closer to her. _She's ours,_ she felt from her wolfself as she moved up behind the woman and drew her wand. Then Seamus closed the distance between them.

"Nice day for it," Seamus said lightly. "Do we dance here, me fancy, or shall we go somewhere and have a talk?"

The man next to Seamus looked at him askance and moved away. A buzzing sound floated into the air around them and he smirked. Lavender had cast _Muffliato._

"You wouldn't dare, Finnigan," said a quiet voice he knew all too well. "We're out in Muggle public; it'd be breaking your precious laws to be using magic here." She laughed softly. The laughter stopped when Lavender's wand poked into her back.

"Alecto Carrow," Lavender said, her voice close to a growl. "We were talking about you just last night. I thought you were dead," – she snorted – "and you should wear a different perfume." Lavender's voice descended into a low snarl. "Make no mistake, Ms. Carrow, we will kill you where you stand if you try anything."

"Then that's what you'll have to do, you stupid little slag, make it a big public spectacle," the invisible woman said. "I'll not be going to Azkaban."

Seamus chuckled a moment, and then pressed his wand tip to the galleon around his neck. "Carrow in Ipswich, come now," he said. "Well, it'll be an interesting day for you, madam. You see the whole o' Dumbledore's army knows you're here at this moment, and I'd wager a fair bit that half of 'em are on their way right now." His eyes lit up. "Oh."

Seamus's coin had heated, and he read a new message: "Where?" the coin asked.

He pressed his wand to the coin again and said, "Tree, town square." Then he looked where he thought her eyes would be. "Well now, they'd be on their way," he said in a satisfied and taunting voice.

A flash of green leapt toward Seamus, and he was just barely able to shield himself from it. The deflected spell shot across the square and struck the globes on one of the lamp posts. They exploded in a shower of glass. The crowd's attention was drawn to that spot, and in a flurry of movement Carrow attempted to Disapparate. Lavender had anticipated that and crushed it with a _Finite._ The combination of failed disapparition and _Finite_ dissolved the Disillusionment charm and she fell to the ground at Seamus's feet. Another jet of green emerged from Carrow's wand aimed directly at a small girl a few feet away. Luckily for the girl, Seamus had erected a shield in front of Carrow, and the spell deflected off it, shot upward into the town hall, and took out a window. At the same moment there was another small bang as Lavender stunned the woman on the ground. He Confunded the people closest to him and then sent several small, nearly invisible, shots into the sky. The flurry of firework bursts drew the crowd's attention. Seamus took advantage of the distracted throng and heaved Carrow to her feet while Lavender ripped the woman's wand from her hand. Both Lavender and Seamus rammed their wands into the woman's side.

"Come on, Aunt Alecto; let's get you home," Seamus said loudly. "A little too much Christmas Cheer for you?" They pushed through the crowd to the pavement in front of a row of shops. Cho Chang rounded a corner from one street, and Alicia Spinet emerged from a street on the opposite side of the square. "Come quietly and you won't be harmed cause a fuss and it'll be very unpleasant," he said in a low whisper.

They dragged the nearly unconscious woman back to the same alley at the rear of the town hall that they had Apparated into. Alicia entered the alley closely followed by Cho, and the two women hurried up to Lavender while Seamus used the coin again. "Service alley, behind Town hall," he said, and charmed the coin again. "I'll just be giving them time to read that. Good morning, ladies," he said to Angelina and Cho. "sorry to disturb your Christmas morning but this one," – he indicated Carrow with a nod of the head – "this one had other plans."

"I'd give up a hundred Christmas mornings to take her in," Cho said. "How'd she get away from the battle in the first place? I saw the end of the sword come out of her back."

The old Death Eater chuckled and slurred, "Longbottom's an idiot like the rest of you blood traitor trash. He didn't kill me, obviously. He didn't learn when you kill someone make sure they're dead. When you lot ran off to fight in the hall I dragged myself to a place where I could do some of the healing charms. Got found and helped."

Cho was in her face in an instant. "BY WHOM?" she asked.

"Helpers, you insolent bitch," Carrow replied with a sneer.

"Watch your mouth," Alicia said, "or I'll shut it for you."

Lavender looked at Cho and saw her coven-mate wiggle her fingers over her wand. She shook her head. _Don't fuck with Cho, you stupid whore. Top of her class Ravenclaw. She'll curse you seven ways from Sunday, and it'll take the healers a week to undo it._ "Don't," she said to the dark haired woman, "she's not worth it."

Cho took a deep breath and backed away. "I wish Luna was here," she said.

"No, you don't," Lavender snapped. "She's been used wrongly quite enough these last few days," she said, with an eye toward Seamus.

Seamus bowed his head, and then pressed his wand to the coin again. "Carrow taken. Need ministry."

Cho completely missed the undercurrent of the conversation. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Guess we'll have to get the information out of her the old-fashioned way." She bent and cupped Carrow's chin. "Veritaserum has quite a kick they tell me; you'll like it." She chuckled. "The hangover is a bloody pain though."

Harry, Ron, and Kingsley Shacklebolt Apparated a few yards away. "Well, well, well," Kingsley said in his deep baritone. "Look who we have here. A very happy Christmas to you, Madam Carrow. We knew your brother had survived the battle, but we thought you dead."

The old woman spat in Kingsley's face.

Harry surged forward. "I Cruciated your brother for spitting in the face of one of my friends. Should I do it to you as well?"

Ron pushed Harry's wand arm down. "Let it go, Harry," he said.

Harry drew several deep breaths. Ginny had told him about this woman; Neville had told him about this woman. She and her brother had turned his beloved school into a house of horrors, and Harry was still very angry about that. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Yeah, okay," he said, and grudgingly lowered his wand. "Have to take one from Neville's column though. He'll be right sorry about that."

"He might as well have killed me," the old woman rasped. "Damn wound won't close. Potion keeps the pain away, mostly, but still can't figure why it won't heal."

Harry looked at her and smirked. "Basilisk Venom: you're really lucky to be alive."

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Miss Chang, would you do the honors?"

Cho smiled at the tall man, and then down at Carrow. "Alecto Carrow, as a duly appointed member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement it is my extreme pleasure to place you under arrest for violating more laws than I care to enumerate. You will be taken to St. Mungo's high security ward, there to await trial on the charges that will be brought against you. Do you have a solicitor?"

The old woman snorted. "You bloody well know I don't."

Ron grabbed her right arm and heaved her to her feet. "Lucky for you we have a legal aid group. You'll get a fair trial."

"Take her to St. Mungo's, Miss Chang. I'll be along shortly," Kingsley said to Cho. "I'll just be debriefing Mr. Finnigan and Miss Brown." He turned to Ron and Harry. "Weasley, Potter, would you make sure they get there safely?"

"Yes, sir," they said in chorus.

"You'll want this," Lavender said, and handed Carrow's wand to the Minister.

"That we will." He turned to Cho. "Make sure they know about the Basilisk venom, we want her well for her trial."

Cho nodded, took Carrow's left arm, and grasped Ron's free hand. There was the snap of Apparition and they were gone.

"Happy Christmas, Seamus, Lavender," Harry said to them. "I'll see you in the office later, sir," he told Kingsley. He twisted on the spot and was gone. At the same moment Hannah Abbot and Neville appeared at the opening of the alley.

"Is he gone?" Hannah asked. "Did he get away? Are we too late?"

Seamus strode up to Neville. "It wasn't Amicus. Sorry commander, it was Alecto. She's alive, and on her way to St. Mungo's."

"But I stuck the sword right through her," Neville said, puzzled. "What happened?"

"I was just going to ask them that very question," Kingsley said. "Let's go somewhere less cold and talk."

Lavender nodded her head to the side. "There's a nice little pub just round the corner, bet they're open. A few places round here are on Christmas morning."

"I'll let everyone know so they don't all show up," Seamus said, and put the tip of his wand against the coin once more. "Carrow in custody," he said.

They made their way through the busy streets to the pub that indeed was open. After ordering warm mulled wine and tea Kingsley asked them to recount their story of earlier that morning. Lavender let Seamus tell the tale; he was a consummate story teller. With hand gestures and a command of the language she only saw when he was recounting some thrilling epic, he told his rapt audience how he and Lavender had apprehended Carrow.

"And just like we planned, Lavender creeps round the tree from her blind side while I keep her attention out front, you see." He had set the tea pot in the center of the table to represent the tree and was using his hands to show where he and Lavender were. "So I see me blonde beauty coming round the back, and I walk right up where we know she is, then I let her know _we_ know she's there." He looked at Neville. "When she spoke I was a bit surprised. More than a bit really, had no idea it was Alecto. Thought you'd killed her just like everyone else did. So then I used the coin and sent the first message. Told her the D.A. would be here shortly." He turned to Kingsley. "Wanted to force her play." He nodded. "Worked. She tried to kill me, then she tried Apparating, but Lav stopped it with a _Finite_."

"Very good thinking, Miss Brown," Kingsley said, nodding in her direction.

"Aye, it was," Seamus said taking her hand. "This one here… well you don't want to be crossing her, no, no, no." He looked back at Kingsley. "Dispelled the Disillusion too, she did. Then Carrow tried to kill a little Muggle girl." Lavender heard raw hatred in his voice as he said it. "Lav Stupefied her while I Confunded the folks near us and sent up a volley of fireworks. I did that, and then we dragged her to the alley. You know the rest."

Neville shook his head. "Amazing. How did she stay hidden all this time?"

"That's something I'd like to know as well," Kingsley said. "We know Amicus escaped after Bellatrix Lestrange released him and his sister from Ravenclaw tower, but we haven't seen or heard anything about him. Most of the former Death Eaters want to pretend that the whole of Riddle's forces were captured or killed during the battle, but we know that's not the case. There are quite a few out there still, and we just don't have enough trained and skilled Aurors to hunt them all down." He looked around the table with raised eyebrows at the young people.

Neville smirked, drained his wine glass, and set it on the table. "And on that note I think we need to get back to your parents' house," he said to Hannah. He leaned in to Kingsley, laughing. "Nice try. The answer is still no."

The dark man laughed. "Can't blame a man for trying to collect talent when he sees it," he said.

"You two at Harry's for New Year?" Neville asked Seamus and Lavender.

"Wouldn't miss it," Seamus said.

"We'll see you there," Hannah told them. "Come on, Nev, let's get home. Mum will be worried, and there's roast beef to be eaten." She told him, and turned to Kingsley, Seamus and Lavender. "Happy Christmas," she said, and led a grinning Neville from the café.

"He's sunk," Seamus said. "We'll be getting a wedding invite from them this coming year, you watch."

"Nev deserves it," Lavender said. She looked at the two men. "You know about his parents?"

Kingsley nodded solemnly. "Aye," Seamus said. "It took him five years to tell us. Harry knew early on, but it wasn't till after the battle at the ministry that Nev told Ron, Dean, and me. Molly Weasley did the world a favor."

"Yes she did," Kingsley said. "We can't have people like Bellatrix Lestrange going uncaught. We need twice as many Aurors as we have. You all did a fine job at the battle and in the months after, but as you went back to your lives and school, they melted back into society." The dark man set his cup down and looked intently at the two young people in front of him. "You two broke more laws than I care to think about this morning." He paused for a long moment looking stern, and then he smiled. "Thank you." Seamus could hear it coming. He'd been on the receiving end of the offer twice now, but he didn't know if Kingsley had approached Lavender yet. "You are both very good at this," Kingsley continued. "With training you'd be great Aurors, and you make a fine team. I've told you before, and I'll say it again, when you're ready to come to the ministry my door is open."

He turned to Seamus. "Mr. Finnigan: both Ron and Harry say you're as calm and collected under pressure as any man they've ever seen. Your performance during the battle was superb, and your ability to think on your feet impressed a lot more people than just me. I saw you battle Avery; he never touched you. Arthur tells me he saw you fight Lestrange, and he says you were focused and completely undistracted by the insults he was throwing at you. Amazing." He looked at Lavender across the table. "Miss Brown, Harry tells me you are the best shot in the whole of Dumbledore's army. The damage you inflicted on the first two charges that came the night of the battle was impressive. You and Miss Patil single handedly foiled those charges."

Lavender blushed. "Professor Flitwick had a good deal to do with it too, sir. His shield charms, and revocation spells allowed us to hit them full force. We just followed the plan."

"Until the plan became irrelevant," Kingsley laughed. "As they always do in a fight. Then you proved yourself again. You fought with a tenacity and ruthlessness that someone of your youth shouldn't possess. The abilities you now have, thanks to Greyback, would be a tremendous asset in the department." He finished his tea. "You two did in a few minutes today what a team of Aurors hasn't been able to do in almost two years. I've asked you both independently, and now I'll ask you as a team: will you join the ministry? Will you help us keep the world safe?"

"I can't speak for Lavender, Minister, but I have been considering it." He looked Kingsley in the eye. "I won't do anything that doesn't involve her though. If we decide to join it'll be on our terms, and we won't be giving you an answer today."

"I didn't expect one," Kingsley said with a chuckle. He drained his cup and rose from the chair. "Keep us in mind." He shook their hands. "Well it's off to St. Mungo's for me. Pity, Andromeda Tonks asked me to come for dinner." He put on his hat. "Ah, the life of the minister is never his own. Happy Christmas, Miss Brown, Mr. Finnigan."

"Happy Christmas," they called as he left the pub.

Lavender took up her tea. "What do you think, Shay?"

"I don't know," he said with the most serious expression Lavender had ever seen on him. "Me gut says it's a good thing to do, but I don't want to be dragging you into anything that might get you hurt, and I see how much Ron travels. Harry's home more but that's just because of who he is. I won't be away from you that much." His eyes bored into her and her heart did that little flip again.

"We'll think on it," she said.

"We?"

"My sweet and I like the idea. It's as if we were meant to do something like this," she said, and rubbed her chin. "But I want it to be the right job. I have a feeling if they got me they'd use me for her, and I don't like that idea at all."

"Nor do I, me love, nor do I." He looked around the pub. "We best be getting back to your parents. Is the old Muggle with the chestnuts here?"

"I was so distracted by Carrow I haven't looked," she said, shaking her head. "Let's find out."

After a quick conversation with the barman, they headed off to the opposite side of the square. People were milling about, chatting happily and taking in the gaiety of the season. Seamus was once again struck by the beauty of the town's Christmas finery. Coming from a small village in Limerick he hadn't seen much in the way of large scale Christmas decorations, and he had a huge smile that Lavender couldn't help but giggle at.

"What?" he asked as he turned and drew her into a hug.

"You look like," – she paused to giggle again – "well, like a kid at Christmas."

"And you look like a goddess," he said with an entirely different smile.

Lavender felt the wave of love sweep though her so powerfully she was speechless. They were standing in the middle of the pavement in the busy square, but it was as if they were the only two people on earth. The throng around them barely registered in her perception as Seamus kissed her.

"Do you mind," said a voice. The onlooker cleared his throat. "I say, do you mind?"

Lavender opened her eyes and saw Seamus look over her shoulder and smiled broadly. "No, not at all," he said, and kissed Lavender again.

"You young people," the exasperated man said, and Lavender felt him brush past.

They were both smiling so hard the kiss ended in laughter. "Let's get those chestnuts and head back, yeah?" Seamus said.

"Lead on, my knight," she said as she took his arm.

The old Muggle man was around the corner just south of the square. His little cart steamed and smoked, and the smell coming from it made them forget that a feast waited for them. They queued up behind another couple and Seamus took the opportunity to steal another kiss. Lost in the moment they didn't notice it was their turn until the old Muggle man spoke up.

"Not getting any younger here," he said jokingly.

They broke apart, red faced. "Um, sorry," Seamus said. "Got caught up, we did. You understand."

"Yeah, I do," the old man said nodding. "Been quite a few years since I lost my wife, but I still remember. Hang on to it, children." He snapped open a paper bag. "Now, what can I get you?"


	6. The Peal of a Bell and That Christmas T

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 6

The Peal of a Bell and that Christmas Tree Smell

Rowan Brown pulled the sheet up over Janice Long's waist, and she snuggled into his side. They were lying naked on the bed in her flat. Her hand came up into his field of vision as she admired the new ring on her finger. "I love you," he said.

"I know," she replied.

-~####

Seamus and Lavender arrived back at her house with the still steaming bag. Lavender opened the door and headed straight to the back of the house. "I've got your chestnuts here, Mum," she said as she entered the kitchen. Her parents broke apart; she had obviously walked in on a moment just like she and Seamus had shared a few minutes earlier. Her mother tried to cover her embarrassment by pushing her hair back out of her face and making an excuse about how hot it was in the kitchen. That only made it funnier to Lavender.

"Don't even try, Mum," Lavender said with a laugh. "Seamus told me it'd be like this for at least a while." She hugged them both. "Don't stop on my account." She left the kitchen sniggering.

In the sitting room Seamus lit the fire in the grate and added a few pieces of coal from the scuttle. Lavender wandered into the room, came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I caught them snogging again." He could feel her laughing.

"That'll be a fairly frequent occurrence I should think," he said as he turned in her arms to face her. "One of the things that Mam told me would happen."

Lavender nodded. "Yeah, I heard you telling Artie, Jaz, and Rowan last night. Part of the effects of the potion then?"

"Aye, Mam said me granddad was… how did she put it… oh yeah, frisky after Grandma gave him the flask."

"She gave it to you, your mum?"

"Aye, I told her what was afoot, and how I had to do something. She told me the story of me granddad and how me grandma… fixed him. She'd been keeping the flask safe since they passed, and after we talked she said she finally knew why. When she gave me the flask and told me about the ritual I knew what I had to do."

"She knew what you were planning?" Lavender said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no one did." He hugged her tighter. "Listen, Lavender, I hoped that I wouldn't have had to do what I did, but from talking with you and Parvati I had an idea that was a foolish hope. So I arranged everything, went to Glamis and prepared the dungeon, made sure I knew the ritual," – he hugged her tighter – "prepared meself to lose you, everything."

She hugged him back. "You'd have to do more than cure my father of his alcoholism to lose me, Seamus Finnigan." And she kissed him tenderly.

"Alright, break it up," Artemisia said as she entered the room. "I expected you to be in the kitchen with Mum, Lav."

"When Mum and Dad finish snogging I will be," she told her startled sister.

"Eeewww!" the older woman said. "I don't want to hear that."

Seamus and Lavender burst into laughter. "Aye, Artemisia," Seamus said when he recovered. "You'll have to get used to it. Like I said your parents are going to be a lot more affectionate."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"Hello all," Rowan said as he too entered the sitting room. "Artie, you remember Janice?"

"Of course. It's been a few months." The older woman took Janice's hand. "How have you been?"

"Same as everyone, really," Janice replied. "Working, making ends meet, dating your brother."

"I see," Artemisia said with a sharp look for Rowan. "And not everyone's dating our brother."

Rowan smirked at her. "Janice, this is Seamus Finnigan, the man I told you about, and you remember Lavender of course."

"Good to meet you, Janice," Seamus said. "Rowan mentioned you last night; well, more than mentioned really. He was fair true, you are a beauty."

Lavender swatted his arm. "He's quite full of himself just now, Janice. Good to see you again." She hugged Janice and stifled a laugh. Her brother and his girlfriend smelled of sex. They'd showered but Lavender could still tell. She smiled. "I'm thinking we'll be seeing more of you. Am I right?"

Janice blushed and snuggled into Rowan. "Yes, I think so."

"I guess Jaz and I are the odd ones out this year," Artemisia said in pretend hurt. "Both of us are single at the moment."

Seamus looked at her, puzzled. "I'd think you'd have the lads queuing up for you."

"She does," Lavender said, and Seamus could tell there was a great deal behind that statement.

"That's as may be, but none of them are the _Right_ man," the dark haired witch replied.

Lavender looked at her sister. "Decided to get a bit pickier?" she said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Taking a page from your book, baby sister," Artemisia replied with a nod.

Lavender hugged Seamus to her side. "Taken."

Artemisia silently laughed.

"Janice!" Jasmine cried as she entered the room. "You're here. Rowan didn't tell us."

"Well, Rowan didn't invite me until this morning," Janice said.

"Yeah," Rowan said. "A lot of things have changed this morning." He turned to the woman at his side. "I asked Janice to marry me," he said, looking deep into her eyes.

"I said yes," Janice said, and kissed him.

The Brown women burst into squeals of delight. Seamus grabbed Rowan's hand and shook it vigorously. "Well done, Rowan. I had a feeling when we talked last night that you had come to an important decision. This was it, yeah?"

"Yeah, Seamus," he said and leaned into Seamus' ear. "Thanks," he whispered.

"What was all the commotion?" Mr. Brown said from the door to the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Janice."

"Happy Christmas, Nat," she replied.

"Rowan didn't tell us you were coming," Mr. Brown said.

_That was about an hour ago,_ Lavender thought, giggling to herself and drawing a puzzled look from Seamus.

"Didn't know she was until this morning, Dad," Rowan told him.

Jasmine couldn't keep it in any longer. "They're getting married!" she nearly shouted.

"What was that?" Mrs. Brown's voice yelled from the kitchen, and then she appeared in the door behind her husband.

Rowan stepped forward, and took Janice's hand. He raised it and showed his parents the ring. "I asked Janice to be my wife this morning." His mother's eyes immediately filled with happy tears. "You up for a June wedding?"

Mrs. Brown pushed past her husband to hug her future daughter in-law. "I am so happy for you both," she said, whispering in the girl's ear. "Rowan has been in love with you since the day you met."

The Brown women, present and future, dissolved into a gaggle of questions and plans, then they moved as a mob into the kitchen leaving Mr. Brown, Rowan, and Seamus standing bemused in the sitting room.

"Well, this would call for a toast, it would," Seamus said, and he summoned the bottle with "Scotch Whisky" etched on its side from Rowan's room. "This'll be your draw for the day, Nat?" he asked.

"Happily, Seamus," the older man said, and patted his back. Seamus poured a toast for Rowan and himself, while Mr. Brown summoned the flask from his room.

The young Irishman handed a glass to Rowan, and then raised his own. "To Rowan and Janice, _Sliocht sleachta ar shliocht bhur sleachta_," he said, and drained his glass.

"Here, here, to whatever it was you just said." Mr. Brown laughed, and took a long draw from his flask.

"Thank you, Seamus," Rowan said and drained his glass. "I want my friend, Mark, as my best man, but he might need help dealing with the magical side of things, you know, helping keep my other Muggle friends from finding out about your world. Would you mind helping him with that?"

Seamus looked at Rowan. "I would consider it a great honor, Rowan, a great honor indeed. Your friend, Mark, he knows of your magical family then?"

"Yes, a bit. He's been around since we were kids."

Seamus raised an eyebrow. "He's got your Muggle exemption?"

"Yeah, about the time we were seven Mum went to the ministry and filed the paperwork." Rowan chuckled. "Ten years later she had to do it again for Janice."

"Aye, it's good the Ministry grants those to families with Muggle children. Be a ruddy pain if you couldn't talk about all this with at least one friend," Seamus said. "Have him get hold of me and I'll help with anything he needs."

"I'll be sure and do that," Rowan said. "The women are in the midst of planning the hen party and the wedding by now."

And indeed they were.

"So how much does your family know about us?" Lavender asked as she simultaneously summoned a roasting tin from a cupboard and potatoes from the bin.

"A little," Janice said tentatively. "They know that there's a magical world and you're part of it, but I've made it sound very new age. They don't know what really goes on, and I haven't told them any of what you went through the last few years. It would have terrified them; it scared the hell out of me." She stroked her hand down Lavender's back. "Rowan has told me everything, Lavender. What you and Seamus and all your friends did, I still have a bit of trouble understanding it all, but I think you're braver than anyone I've ever met."

"Yeah, yeah, let's all bow and scrape to the bloody hero," Jasmine said snidely.

Lavender smiled at her sister. "Kiss my arse," she laughed.

"Language, girls!" Mrs. Brown snapped, and the women broke into fits of laughter.

"Thanks, Janice, really," Lavender said when she recovered. "But the real heroes are buried in the cemetery of the fallen at Hogwarts." She laid her hand on Janice's. "Maybe one day I'll take you there and show you. Chances are, if you and Rowan have children there will be magic among them."

"Rowan's a Muggle, but he still carries the genes," Artemisia said at Janice's puzzled look. "The odds are one in two." When Janice's look turned concerned she asked, "Reconsidering?"

Janice smiled. "Never, been waiting a long time for him to ask. No, I'll take what comes. If we have a child, magical or not, I'll still love them."

Lavender watched her two older sisters hug the newest member of the Brown clan. "I knew he would eventually," Artemisia said. "He's just been waiting; I'm pretty sure I know why that was."

"I think you're right," Janice said, and looked at Lavender. "He's very happy with Seamus, Lavender," Janice said. "He raved about him most of the morning."

"Not quite all morning," Lavender said under her breath as she turned to the sink and washed the potatoes. Jasmine gave her a sharp look. Lavender smiled at her sister, tapped the side of her nose, and shook her head.

Jasmine's eyebrows shot up and she broke into a conspiratorial smile.

"What was that about?" their mother asked.

"Nothing, Mum," Jasmine answered. "Lav and I just have some shopping to do for the happy couple, and I know just the shop. You know Lav? That one Parvati likes so much?"

An image of lacy pink façade with the words "Victoria's Secret" written on it floated into her mind. "Yes I think know the shop you're talking about, been there recently in fact."

Jasmine practically danced in the kitchen. "Really!"

Lavender blushed and nodded.

Jasmine hugged her younger sister. "That's so great," she whispered in her ear. "We should talk."

"Later," Lavender said, and hugged her back.

"I'm lost," Artemisia said.

"As am I," her mother put in.

"Oh, never mind, Mum," Lavender told her mother. "May I have some of the beef dripping for the potatoes?"

"I'm not planning Yorkshire pudding," Sylvia said. "Go on."

Lavender used her wand to open the door of the oven and then set the roasting tin with the small red potatoes in it on the open door. With a practiced flick of her wand a stream of the dripping from the roasting pan the small standing rib roast was in flew from it and landed in the tin.

"Nice dodge," Jasmine whispered, and then winked at her younger sister. She turned to the other women. "Well, back to Rowan and Janice, have you thought about an actual date?"

Janice shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing firm, we were thinking about third or fourth weekend in June,"

"That'll be lovely," Lavender said, as she rolled the potatoes around in the fat. "Have you thought about where?"

"I really would prefer it outside, but on a mossy rock in the middle of the ocean that's probably not possible," Janice said thoughtfully, while she stared into infinity. "I always had this picture in my head of me barefoot on the grass in a diaphanous kind of dress, you know, very fairy tale."

Lavender slid the roasting tin into the oven onto the lower rack next to the small ham.

Artemisia laughed. "Oh, we can arrange the fairy part," she said between chuckles. "The tale, well…"

Lavender stood, and said, "Actually, I might know just the place;" – she smiled – "It's been host to a few Magical and Muggle parties." Her hand went to her chin, and she looked contemplative. "We'd have to get everyone to Ireland, but that shouldn't be too hard."

"Ireland?" Janice asked Lavender.

"Yeah, Seamus's home," she answered. "Your family could meet here and we could portkey them to The Grove, that's what they call the place, and our side could meet them there." Lavender looked at Janice. "I'll talk to Margaret. We're going to arrange a Finnigan, Brown get together anyway, and you should come along too. You could check it out." She smiled at her brother's fiancée. "You'll love it. It's so beautiful, and the garden… you'll just love it."

"Sounds like you'd like to get married there yourself, little sister," Jasmine jibed.

Lavender shrugged and tossed her head to the side. "It would be nice, we'll see."

Sylvia laid her hand on her youngest child's shoulder. "Well as influential as you are with the ministry, and as many favors as you're owed, I don't think imposing an entire wedding party of Muggles on them at this time is a good idea. I'm sure they'd push though the clearances, but it might be a better idea to think of a place closer to home and less… fraught with complications." She chuckled. "Besides, the weather is always unpredictable in June, and we haven't even met your Seamus's mother yet ourselves. Let's take it a bit slower, Lavender."

Lavender smiled and tossed her head. "Yes, I suppose you're right. It's just that the Grove is such a beautiful place. You'll love it."

"I'm sure we will," Artemisia said, and took her little sister's hand. "Mum's right, slow down, Lav. Take a breath. Everything in your life has been moving very fast for the last few years, so you should enjoy this time with Seamus. Take it from me, don't rush, it doesn't help and can hurt what you have." She turned to the cooling cabinet and pulled several ramekins and a plate of bread slices from it. "I'll just put out the potted shrimp, Mum."

"Did I hear 'potted shrimp'," Rowan's voice said from the sitting room.

-~####

An hour later the smell of roast turkey drew the men to the kitchen like a magnet. Sylvia levitated the roasting tin from the oven and floated it across the room to the slates on the kitchen table. A few moments after that, the two smaller pans landed next to it. Just as they set down on the table the door from the sitting room swung open, and Rowan strode through it to embrace his fiancée. He was followed closely by Seamus and Mr. Brown.

Lavender's father summoned a wing right off the turkey.

"Nat!" Mrs. Brown scolded. "You just can wait, can you?"

"He does that every year," Lavender whispered in Seamus's ear, and he felt her laugh.

Rowan nicked the other one while his mother was distracted.

"And just look what you've taught your son," she said, and playfully swatted Rowan's shoulder. "Stealing our guest's breakfast, snatching turkey wings; where will it end, where will it end?" she finished melodramatically.

"In their kitchen with kids of their own," Mr. Brown answered through a mouthful of turkey, with a nod at Rowan and Janice.

Rowan ripped the wing in half and handed one of the halves to Seamus. "Besides," he said, "the wings belong to the men."

"And the men belong to us," Janice said, and she nimbly grabbed Rowan's part of the wing from his hand, took a bite, and handed it back to him.

Artemisia put her hand on Janice's shoulder. "I love this girl, Rowan."

"Alright, alright," Mrs. Brown said. "Everybody out except Lavender and… Jasmine could you help get things out to the table this year dear?"

"Sure, Mum," the tall, thin woman answered.

"Artemisia, would you and Rowan set the table, and get out the platters for the beef, ham, and turkey?" Mrs. Brown asked them, and then looked at her husband. "Nat, get out the carving set."

Once the table was set and the platters arranged at the end of the table, Jasmine levitated the turkey, in its pan, to the table. When it was safely down on the slates she levitated the turkey from the pan, and set it on the carving board in front of her father. A casual wave of her wand sent the pan back to her mother in the kitchen so she could make the gravy. Mr. Brown stood at the end of the table and opened an old box that sat next to the platters. The carving set he pulled from it was a thing of beauty. The blade of the knife gleamed, and Seamus could see the edge was razor sharp. The handles were solid silver and ornately cast into the shape of dragon's heads.

"Been in the family for centuries," Nathanial Brown told Seamus as he carved the turkey. "My great, great, great grandfather was in the Napoleonic wars, and he brought this set home from Germany."

While their father carved, Jasmine brought out the roast beef and the ham and set them on their platters next to the turkey. Lavender was next with roast potatoes, broccoli in a cheese sauce, candied carrots, and a dish piled with colcannon for Seamus. "I made this for us," she told him. "Got to keep my hand in what your mum taught me."

Seamus kissed her hand. "It looks perfect, love."

"If you'll share I'll have some as well," Janice said from across the table. "Got a pub in Paddington does a fair colcannon, but yours looks better."

"Aye, there'll be plenty, Janice," Seamus told her.

Nathanial Brown's job on Christmas day was to slice meats, and he took that job very seriously. Seamus had to chuckle, his father had the same job but took far less care than Lavender's father did. Perfect slices were being dealt from the breast of the turkey, and Seamus could see that Nat approached carving like a Ravenclaw, methodically. First he had removed the breasts and placed them on the platter, then he cut the legs and thighs from the bird and placed them on the platter. He stripped a few more pieces from the bird and twisted it sideways to make room on the carving board. The breasts returned to the board, and with long even movements he made quarter inch slabs. Next he shredded the thigh and leg meat, then he laid it all on the platter, with the breast slices fanning out along the sides of the dish and the dark meat piled in the center.

After the turkey was laid on its platter, the carving board with the remains of the turkey was sent to the kitchen, and a fresh one for the beef was retrieved from the sideboard. Seamus noticed right off that Sylvia had catered to her youngest daughter's taste with that one. The first slice Nat took from the end of the roast revealed that it was cooked but very rare. A growl from the chair next to him made him laugh. "Been a while since breakfast, eh love?"

"Yes, it has," she said, and then leaned in and whispered in his ear. "It looks great, and being in a fight really works up the appetite."

Seamus squeezed her hand under the table. They were smiling at each other when the door to the kitchen opened and Sylvia Brown came in carrying a large oval bowl.

Lavender and her sisters broke into applause as their mother set the bowl on the table. "This is one of our favorites, it's Mum's special bread sauce. She gets all these different bits of bread, sourdough, rye, French, all kinds. Then she adds some stock, spices, raisins, and cranberries, and bakes it off."

Seamus tilted his head at the dish. "There'd be the chestnuts then?"

"Spot on, Seamus," Sylvia said. "Most times I have to use the tinned ones, and with those I have to toast them. With these I just chopped and sprinkled." Smiling happily to herself she summoned a large, very full, gravy boat from the kitchen.

The roast beef was sliced thin and laid on its platter, and the carving board was sent to the kitchen to join its twin. The small ham was then sliced on its platter. "It's not Christmas without ham!" Artemisia pronounced.

"Janice, would you like to give the blessing?" Sylvia asked.

Janice smiled and nodded to her future mother in-law. "Certainly, Sylvia." All around the table heads bowed. "Give us grateful hearts, O Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

After Janice finished, Nat levitated the platter of turkey and sent it from person to person around the table. The beef followed and soon all the dishes were parading past them. Seamus took a bit of everything, and with plates piled high the feast began.

Lavender took a bite of the roast beef and smiled in ecstasy. "Thanks, Mum, this is perfect."

"I'm glad, dear," she replied, and nodded at the man next to her. "Seamus seems to like it too."

Seamus finished chewing. "I've always liked me meat rare. Course Lav likes it really rare," he said, and everyone laughed. "I agree though, this is just right, Sylvia."

"The ham's particularly good this year too," Artemisia told her mother.

"I got it last trip out to Amesbury when I picked up that sausage that Seamus liked so much this morning." She laughed. "Happiest pigs on earth, at least for a few years."

"And tasty too," Rowan said to general amusement.

Sylvia Brown smiled to herself. The Christmas table hadn't been this happy, and most of all relaxed, in many, many years. She had a moment where she almost broke down and wept for the sheer joy of it. Her son had finally followed his heart and done what he should have a long time ago. Her daughters were laughing and gossiping, and her husband was watching and joining the conversation with humor and enjoyment. Then there was the tow headed man next to her youngest. Sylvia didn't need that antique ball in her bedroom to see where this was headed. He talked with everyone at the table, joined in their laughter, but his eyes were ever on the blonde girl at his side. Sylvia smiled once more and tucked into her plate.


	7. They Said There'd be Peace on Earth

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 7

They Said There'd be Peace on Earth

"The Wizarding Wireless Network presents the Christmas Message of Queen Elizabeth the Second: and now, Her Majesty the Queen," Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice announced from the old wireless. They had finished the Christmas feast, and the Browns, Janice, and Seamus were in the sitting room lounging drowsily on the old stuffed chairs and couches as the Queen began to speak.

"A very Happy Christmas to you all. Listening to the choir from St. George's Chapel, Windsor, reminds me that this season of carols and Christmas trees is a time to take stock; a time to reflect on the events of the past year and to make resolutions for the New Year ahead."

Seamus gathered Lavender in his arms as they sat on the couch. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

"This December we are looking back not just on one year, but on a hundred years and a thousand years. History is measured in centuries. More than ever we are aware of being a tiny part of the infinite sweep of time when we move from one century and one millennium to another."

"I was right," Seamus whispered in Lavender's ear. She nodded without opening her eyes.

The Queen spoke of the challenges facing England, and she was fully aware of the challenges facing her Wizarding subjects as well, though she didn't specifically mention those. She spoke of the trepidation of the old when faced with the extraordinary changes they had seen in their lifetimes. She spoke of the exuberance of youth when faced with those same changes. She spoke of learning the lessons of the past so as not to repeat them. And she spoke of the need for community, of the need for people to look out for not just their own selfish interests, but for those of their neighbors, and for those of the less fortunate. Lastly she spoke of the need to look beyond the latest in gadgetry, to the need to be each other's keeper, to be caring and giving in the new year and new millennium.

"Greatest monarch you've ever had, she is," Seamus said as she finished. "'Twas good o' her to knight Harry."

The wireless started playing Christmas music again as they talked.

"Yeah, she is one of the great ones," Rowan said. "Victoria and Elizabeth the First are right up there too. Be interesting to see how Charles works out."

Lavender's mother emitted the same snort Seamus had heard from her son and daughter. "I don't think he'll be king long, if at all," she said shrewdly.

Seamus looked at her with a confused expression. "What makes you say that, Sylvia?"

"Well, he's been rather a large disappointment to her, hasn't he?" she replied. "He damaged the image of the monarchy badly, and that's all they have really. They're a symbol of England, a living national treasure, and he tarnished that with his… unseemly behavior."

Seamus nodded, and he noticed the others nodding too.

"I think she's determined to outlast him," Mrs. Brown continued. "I think she wants William to succeed her. Actually, he's much more suited to the job. Diana's influence is still very strong in him; she was a great mother and taught him well. Plus, I don't think he likes _that other woman_ very much. I know the Queen doesn't, you can see it in her body language."

"Think he'll marry her?" Seamus asked.

"Be the stupidest thing he could do," Sylvia said. "And yes, I think he will. The English people will _never_ accept _her_ as Queen." She shook her head. "Daft, just daft."

Seamus raised his cup of tea. "Well, long live the Queen then," he said.

"Hear, hear, Seamus," Mr. Brown said. "Hear, hear."

Lavender smiled at her mother. Gossiping about the royal family was one of her favorite pastimes, so she decided to set her up on another of her favorite topics. "Andrew and Sarah seem to have played the press just right, haven't they, Mum?" she asked.

"Oh don't you know it, Lavender. Masterful!" She smiled with pride for the younger royals. "I don't doubt they had some problems early in their marriage, but the divorce is a sham, and a brilliant one at that. Just look at them, you can see they're still mad for each other. They've never taken the rings off. It's just the perfect ploy. Kept the press away while they raised the girls, let them live together without all the pressure on Sarah to be 'a Royal', which she hated, and it let Andrew be the pilot he wanted to be. She's even got her own pilot's license now. Brilliant I tell you."

"Never thought about it that way, Sylvia," Seamus said. "Now that I do, I'm impressed. Really was a very smart move. Wonder who thought it up?"

"Probably Andrew," she said. "He was one of Mountbatten's favorites, and that man was another masterful player of the game."

"Aye, well, on behalf of Ireland I apologize for the ignorant arses that took him from us," Seamus said.

"Not your fault, nor your people's," Rowan said. "Idiots come in all nationalities and colors. Some are orange, some are green."

Seamus smiled at him. "Thanks, Rowan."

The wireless fell silent a then a woman's voice said, "We interrupt today's program with a special news flash. Alecto Carrow, Death Eater, and long thought killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, was captured alive today in Ipswich."

Lavender buried her face in her hands, and Seamus went white. Everyone in the room had turned and was looking at them.

The radio announcer continued, "The Minister reports that two members of Dumbledore's Army apprehended Carrow as she was picking the pockets of Muggles in the town square."

Rowan started to laugh and shake his head. "You just can't help yourselves, can you?"

"It's not funny, Rowan," Lavender said between her fingers. This only made her brother laugh louder.

"Carrow was taken to St. Mungo's for healing of a wound she sustained in the Battle of Hogwarts. The Minister had this to say."

Kingsley's voice boomed from the speaker. "We owe a debt of gratitude to these two young people. They caught a very dangerous and unprincipled witch this morning. Carrow cast the _Avada Kedavra_ twice in her attempt to evade capture, but the training they received from Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom ensured their success. No one was injured, and Carrow was apprehended before anyone could arrive to help. Most importantly they did it _all_ without revealing our world to the Muggles present. I am speechless with gratitude."

Seamus rolled his eyes. "Kingsley will never be speechless."

"The Wizengamot has approved the use of Veritaserum on captured Death Eaters," the announcer continued. "The Minister reports that Carrow has given valuable information, and that several raids, led by head of the Auror department, Dedalus Diggle, were carried out this morning on suspected Death Eater hideouts. Stay tuned to the Wizarding Wireless Network for more details as they come in."

Lavender's mother was standing with her hands on her hips as the music resumed. "What the hell happened this morning?" She looked at her daughter. "Lavender?" All she got was the shake of a blonde head. "Seamus?"

Seamus cleared his throat. "Well, you see Sylvia, we… ahh… It went this way, um."

"Oh, I'll tell her," Lavender said in a defeated voice. She raised her head and looked into her mother's eyes. "We were just there enjoying the decorations and the carol singers when I caught a scent. It was the pain potion, but not the usual scent of the potion, and there was another scent too. A perfume I recognized."

"Aye, she didn't know right then it was Carrow, but she wasn't comfortable with it, not comfortable at all," Seamus added.

Lavender nodded. "Yeah, my sweet was really adamant that this was not a friend, so Seamus and I went back into the crowd to find her. I sort of followed the scent trail, and then I noticed a person under the Disillusion charm standing next to a tree."

Artemisia looked at her stunned. "You can see people under the Disillusion charm?" she asked incredulously.

Lavender shrugged. "Well, sort of. At that point I saw some branches of the tree bending oddly, but a little later I discovered that if I concentrate I can see their outlines in the cold. The heat coming off her formed this sort of shimmer around her. It was pretty clear, but I didn't see her properly until she tried to escape. I stopped her Apparition with a _finite,_ and that dispelled the disillusion too."

Artemisia was wide eyed and open mouthed.

"And the killing curse?" her mother asked, tapping her foot and still looking cross.

"The first one was aimed at Seamus," Lavender said quietly, and then her voice became a growl. "Then she tried to kill a little Muggle girl. When she did that I could actually feel my fingernails growing I was so angry." Her teeth clenched momentarily, and then she drew a shaking breath. "I almost cast _Lithos_ on her." She looked at a stunned Janice. "The killing curse, _Avada Kedavra,_ is forbidden, but there's a dozen others that work just as well." Lavender smirked. "Turning her to stone seemed a bit redundant though, plus that would have made it a lot harder to get her out of the crowd."

"You're not Aurors!" her mother nearly shouted.

"That'd only be because we keep declining Kingsley's offers, Sylvia," Seamus told her. "This morning makes three for me."

Lavender nodded. "My second time."

Nathanial Brown had been keeping quiet during the whole exchange, listening to both sides. "No, they're not Aurors, Sylv, but they might as well be. I had more than a few close friends in Gryffindor while I was at school. Back then I never understood that selfless impulse they had to _always_ rise to the call." He smiled and looked at his youngest while pulled his wife down onto the arm of his chair. "I do now. Rowan's right, it's impossible for them not to do it."

Jasmine was smiling and shaking her head. She sighed, closed her eyes, and asked, "So what happened next?"

Seamus looked around the room. "Lav stupefied her, we carried her off to an alley, and then we called for the ministry."

"Yes, I'm sure it was just that simple," Sylvia said sarcastically.

"Actually, it was," Lavender said. "Not to be immodest, Mum, but Shay and I are quite good at this kind of thing. There's a reason the Minister wants us."

"Calm down, Sylv," her husband said. "They're fine, they acted heroically" –he rolled his eyes– "again, and another Death Eater is in Azkaban. How many does that make for you two?"

"More than I'd like to think about, Nat," Seamus said.

Lavender looked at him and her mouth crooked into half a smile. "Shay, I think this is the first time either one of us has _caught_ anybody."

He chuckled. "Aye, you're right… as always."

Janice looked puzzled. "But Rowan told me… Oh!" Her eyes were wide as she looked in wonder between Lavender and Seamus. "How many?" she said in quiet awe.

Seamus met her eyes. "Five," he said, without emotion.

"Five of the most evil men that ever walked the earth," Lavender spat. "William McElroy, Eli Walker, Robert Mulberry, Jason Avery, and Rabastan Lestrange were long time Death Eaters. Not like all those idiots who took the mark and mask right before the battle." She looked at Janice. "Seamus dueled each one of them on his own." She smiled with pride. "They didn't even ruffle his hair."

"That's not quite true, me love, got a rather nasty scrape on me shin dodging one o' Avery's curses."

Lavender laughed grimly at him, and in a voice dripping in sarcasm asked, "Ooh a nasty scrape, however did you survive?"

Now it was Nathanial Brown's turn to be stunned. "_You_ killed Rabastan Lestrange?" he said in awe. "By yourself?" He looked shocked and a little afraid. "I knew him, did business with him. Now I'm really impressed."

"I had motivation," Seamus said grimly, looking into Lavender's eyes. He turned to Janice, who looked back amazed. "We're pretty sure Lav has the highest count o' all o' us, though."

"What?" Jasmine said in the same surprised tone as Janice.

"They don't know that part, Shay," Lavender said in a quiet, serious voice.

The room had gone very quiet; the only sound was the wireless playing _A Witch, a warm fire, and a wassail. _Lavender had never told her family the particulars of the events of the battle. They hadn't asked, and she wasn't inclined to tell the tale.

Seamus nodded. "May I?"

Lavender nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay," she said quietly.

Seamus looked them all in the eyes as he spoke. "Lav and Parvati accounted for almost half o' Riddles supporters by themselves, and that number is well over a hundred. Can't really be sure o' an exact figure, but Parvati says that Lav is responsible for two thirds o' it if not more."

Sylvia Brown slid down the arm of the chair and into her husband's lap. "So many," she whispered. "I had no idea."

"I told you, she's the best shot I've ever seen, Sylvia. That's why Neville placed her and Parvati on the fourth floor battlements. They… they work very well together, you see… We…" Seamus started to speak and stopped. "I'm sorry, talking about this with folks who weren't there is very hard."

"It's okay, Seamus. Take your time," Artemisia said, and patted his hand.

"Aye. Well Parv and Lav took out a few dozen in the first charge by sniping from their position, and they foiled the second charge mostly by themselves. I was in the courtyard by then, and didn't get to see it, but Padma... Padma saw it all from the top o' Ravenclaw tower. Said it was the most impressive use o' _Incendio_ and _Wingardium Leviosa _she'd ever seen. That's where a good part o' their tally comes from." He looked at Lavender. "There was what, maybe ten or fifteen more in hallway duels?"

"Nine for me. Sixteen for Parv." Lavender said flatly, and looked around the room at the shocked expressions on her family's faces. "And this is why we only talk about that night with each other."

There was a full minute where no one spoke as her family and her brother's fiancé processed what Seamus and Lavender had told them. At last her mother spoke. "And you never used one of the unforgiveables?"

Lavender shook her head. "No. A few of the order and the staff used them all_,_ and I think a few students may have used _Cruciatus_, but neither of us did."

Jasmine shook her head. "Remind me never to hack you off."

Lavender smiled at her sister and said, "Too late."

Nervous laughter started from the tension and then it turned to real mirth as her family accepted what they had been told. Artemisia was still shaking her head as she laughed. "So I suppose taking Carrow this morning was a walk in the park."

"Well, with the two o' us I felt pretty safe going against any one adversary," Seamus said to her. "Though there's something Professor McGonagall said a long time ago." He turned to Lavender. "First house meeting, it was." She smiled and nodded. Seamus looked at her family. "She told us then 'Courage isn't lack o' fear, courage is doing what's right despite your fear, courage is not giving fear rule over your mind. You will be afraid many times in your life, but you are Gryffindor!'" He laughed and looked in Lavender's eyes. "Remember what she asked?"

"Will you let fear decide your fate?" she said smiling.

"Never!" she and Seamus said in chorus.

Janice sat forward on the couch she shared with Rowan. "Amazing, so this minister, that's the Minister for Magic Rowan's told me about?"

"Aye, Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's as fine a man as you'll meet. He was there that night too," Seamus told her. "He was the protection for your Prime Minister before the war. After they sacked Thicknesse, he was chosen as interim minister. Did such a good job the Wizengamot made it an official appointment."

"And did I hear you say the Queen knighted one of you?" Janice continued.

"That'd be our friend Harry, that would." Seamus smiled as he relaxed and shared his friendship with the chosen one. "He was in our year you see." He turned to Lavender. "Not that I'm looking for trouble, but why was it you never set your sights on Harry?"

Lavender smirked. "Well first," –she held up a finger– "Cho! And second," –she held up another finger– "Ginny!" She laughed, and snuggled into him "Lastly, not my type."

"Aye, alright." Seamus kissed her forehead and turned back to Janice. "How much do you know?"

"That would be Harry Potter, correct?"

"Aye."

Janice looked at her fiancé "Rowan told me he saved us all from an evil wizard named... What was his name?"

"Voldemort." Lavender and Seamus said. Nat flinched, Sylvia's hand went to her cheek, and both Artemisia and Jasmine squeaked.

Lavender looked at her family, exasperated. "Oh good god, he's dead! Get over it!"

Seamus laughed. "His real name was Tom Riddle, just a man, and he died just like any other man."

"He wasn't 'just a man' Seamus," Nat said gravely.

"Aye, you're right, he was a giant arsehole too," he said, and laughed at his own joke. "No, Nat's right, Janice, he wasn't 'just a man'. However, Harry found a way to kill him, and kill him he did."

"He came back before," Sylvia said.

Seamus looked at her and said in a vengeful, confident voice, "Aye, well there's no coming back from where he is now, Sylvia." Seamus thought back to the night after the first Anniversary Party. An image of nine very drunk men standing in a circle in the forbidden forest came into his mind, and he smiled knowingly. "That I can personally guarantee."

"And the Queen knighted your friend?" Janice asked.

"Aye," Seamus said and nodded. "The royals know of us, always have. Even though 'm Irish we're still all her loyal servants. She calls, we come."

"Why doesn't England rule the world still?" she asked. "With all your powers at her command..." she stopped and nodded to herself. "There are magic folk everywhere."

"Aye, Janice. We usually don't get involved in Muggle wars unless it affects us directly."

Janice looked at him, understanding written on her face. "I can see why." She shook her head. "You remind me of my friend Cheryl's older brother. He was in the Falklands."

"I still think you've done enough," Sylvia said. "It's not your job to hunt down the surviving Death Eaters."

"No, it's not," Seamus said. "It's the job of Harry, Ron, Cho, Padma, Blaise, and host of others, but it's our duty, Sylvia. It's our duty to the ones like... Colin." His lip trembled. "And Vicky, and professor Lupin, and his son." He looked at her fiercely. "We'll not stop! We cross paths with a Death Eater and..." Seamus fell silent, the muscles in his jaw flexed and determination was clearly written on his face.

Jasmine laid her hand on her sister's, and looked into her emerald eyes. "Maybe you should take the Minister's offer."

"No!" Sylvia said. "They've done enough!"

Lavender smiled at her mother. She was getting worked up again, and Lavender wanted this to be a happy Christmas all round. "It's okay, Mum. I'm not ready yet, and we haven't decided if we want to do it anyway. I'll promise you this, if we decide to go into the M.L.E." –she stopped and smiled– "Department of Magical Law Enforcement," she said to Janice. "If we do, I'll talk to you first. Okay?"

Her mother relaxed a bit. "Alright," she said tentatively.

Seamus looked at her "And besides, Sylvia, we won't be joining until we know what it is they want us for. We're not interested in being separated; we're not interested in _chasing_ Death Eaters; they come calling it's another story, but till Kingsley is specific about what they want us to do, we're waiting. He comes up with an offer we like, then we'll talk. So far he's just offered us jobs as Aurors, and I'm not in love with that."

Lavender saw her mother nod, smile and shake her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Not to worry, Sylvia," Seamus said. "I'll be right here looking out for her, making sure she's safe."

Lavender turned to him, smiling skeptically. "Oh you will, will you?"

"Try and stop me," he said.

Sylvia chuckled to herself. "Alright, but will you try to stay out of the news?" The young couple nodded at her. She drew a deep breath and let it out. "Well, in all the _activity_ this morning, we didn't get to the stockings." Her eyes wandered to the mantelpiece. Seven stockings hung along the old wood. Hers and Nat's were old and battered; she'd had them since their first Christmas together. A little less worn was Artemisia's; Jasmine's looked new, Rowan's looked worst of all, Lavender's had fared well for twenty years, and a new one hung next to it. "Who hung a stocking for Seamus?"

Artemisia smiled. "We did," she said indicating herself and Jasmine. "Last night after everyone went to bed." She winked at her youngest sister. No one else saw it.

"Oh, you needn't have gone to the trouble," Seamus told her.

"It's our pleasure, Seamus," Jasmine said. "If this one" –she poked her brother in the side– "had told us what he was up to, there'd be one for Janice too."

Lavender rose from the couch. "Well let's have a look." Her eyes fell on a bright red cracker with gold ribbon around it. She pulled the cracker from her stocking and her face fell. Emblazoned across the side were the letters WWW. "Where did these come from?" she asked warily.

Jasmine perked up. "My friend, Louise got them, said they were great fun."

Lavender smiled wryly. "You've never actually been in the Wheezes, have you?"

After convincing her family that setting off a Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes product around anything fragile was a very bad idea, they were back in the kitchen. Mr. Brown banished the table to the basement, and Seamus pulled a cracker from his stocking.

"Alright, Rowan. You ready to give one a go?" he asked.

Lavender's brother chuckled. "It's not going to turn me into a frog or anything is it?"

Seamus shrugged. "Dunno, but if it does, we'll fix it."

Janice leaned in to Lavender. "He's joking, right?"

Lavender laughed. "No."

Seamus and Rowan each gave a mighty tug on the ends of the cracker. The explosion was frankly smaller than Lavender had expected given the makers; still, it rattled the windows and made the floor jump. An enormous amount of ribbon and confetti erupted from the cracker and formed into a figure of Father Christmas. Red ribbon took the shape his hat coat, sack and trousers, black formed his belt gloves, and boots, and white fashioned itself into the shape of his beard and the fringe on his coat and hat.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" the ribbon man said. "Merry Christmas!" He reached into his bag and threw a handful of what turned out to be Bavarian caramels into the air before collapsing into a pile on the floor.

"Alright then," Jasmine said as she levitated the caramels into a dish on the cabinet top and vanished the bits and pieces of ribbon and the floor. "I see what you mean."

Seamus leaned against the cabinetry, laughing. He took an orange from his stocking and began to peel it. "So, now you know what to expect."

"Come on, Mum," Artemisia said, and held out one end of her cracker to her mother. The same explosion of ribbon and confetti evolved into a huge bell that nearly deafened them as in rang. Peppermints fell from it each time it struck.

"I'm next!" Jasmine said, and she smiled wickedly. "Come on Janice."

Janice cautiously took the end of the cracker.

Jasmine smiled at her. "Don't worry. One, Two, Three."

The cracker contained one of the wise men, and he handed each of the women a galleon before the spell evaporated and he became another heap of ribbon and confetti on the floor of the kitchen.

"Current rate's twelve quid," Mr. Brown told Janice.

"That must be a rare one," Seamus said. "Can't see George turning loose o' very many galleons." He shook his head and chuckled.

Rowan pulled one from his stocking. "Come on dad," he said.

-~####

Seamus flopped down on the bed in Rowan's room. It had been a good day. Lavender and he had captured a Death Eater, smoothed the ruffled feathers of her family after they found out, and eaten as good a Christmas meal as Seamus had ever had. He would have to tell George that they had enjoyed the Weasley crackers immensely, and the rest of the day and evening had been spent in happy conversation and nibbling on leftovers. He and Lavender had been offered the wishbone, but they had deferred to Rowan and Janice. _Janice got the merrythought, wonder what it was? _Seamus smiled to the evening had worn on, Rowan and his fiancée had bid the family good night and made their escape. Rowan had taken him aside and told him how great it was to meet him, how much he thought of Seamus, and that he heartily approved of him for his sister. Then he told him not to expect him back that night.

He was alone in Rowan's bedroom, laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling reviewing the day. A wave of relief flowed through him. He had been very nervous, but committed to his plan involving Lavender's father, and it had worked out better than he had dared hope. He still had a knot in his stomach when he thought about returning home tomorrow, but he decided that he would think about that in the morning. Luna might be angry with him, but he was most concerned with how Dean was going to react when he was next in his presence. It worried him a lot, so he decided to think about Lavender instead.

He smiled again, and discovered that his cheeks hurt a little. He shook his head. _Been smiling so hard me cheeks ache_ he thought. _This was a good day._ Lavender had been downstairs last time he'd seen her. Jasmine and Artemisia had shooed him off to bed and commandeered his girlfriend. _ His girlfriend._ The cheek ache was back. _Aye, she's a fair bit more than that though, isn't she, me lad._ He lost himself in fantasy. He saw them far in the future, sitting on a bench, old and grey and still in love. He saw them at Hermione and Ron's wedding, just a few short months away. He saw them at Harry and Ginny's wedding, a month later, dancing and laughing. He saw himself carrying Lavender into their own house. That, he decided, would happen.

A soft knock sounded on the door, drawing him back from his happy fantasies.

"Aye," he said.

The door opened, and the girl of his dreams stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.


	8. The Christmas You Get You Deserve

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 8

The Christmas You Get, You Deserve

"Good morning, Seamus Finnigan," Luna said as he walked into the kitchen.

_Still using me full name, I see, _he thought. _Aye, I deserve that._

Luna walked up to him and laid her hand on his cheek. "Yes you do, but I will forgive you, Seamus. You did what you did for love, and I… well, I am angry, but you Gryffindors often don't really think things through." She hugged him, drew away and looked into his eyes. "I forgive you, Seamus," she said. He looked in her face and saw no anger there, only friendship. Luna set out her breakfast of a small bowl of Frosties, a plate of smoked fish, and some tortillas on the table. "However, you need to know why I am so adamant about not doing what you asked at first." She turned and faced him. "It would be easy you see, easy for me to 'fix' people like you asked, but where do I stop, Seamus? Where is that line? Who needs fixing, and who does not, and once I do it, can I overcome the temptation to do it to everyone I deem 'in need of fixing'"

Seamus nodded. "Yeah, I get that, Luna, I really do, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so presumptuous, but," – he smiled– "it did work."

She sat at the table and looked at him in a way that had become familiar to him. It made Seamus feel as if he was an infant and that she could have been a thousand years old. "I am certain it did: Nathanial Brown was most regretful when I left him. Do you think he is done with the drink for good?"

"Oh yes," Seamus replied, and he told her the tale of the flask.

Luna nodded as he spoke. "That was very good of you, Seamus. I am sure Lavender and her family appreciate it. Oh, and congratulations on your Occlumency skills. I never saw it coming."

Seamus took her hand as he sat at the table. "I _am_ very sorry, Luna. I know it was hard for you. I can only guess how much, but it worked," he said sincerely. "He's a changed man. Lavender's mum, this morning as we were leaving, she just wouldn't stop hugging me. Kept telling me how great I was." He rolled his eyes. "I had to make sure she knew I would have failed miserably if it weren't for you, so expect a lot o' hugs from her next time you see her."

Luna smiled. "Sylvia is a good person, very honest. It amazes me that she stayed in that relationship." She wrapped a boned kipper in a tortilla.

Seamus smirked at her breakfast. He'd long ago stopped trying to figure out her diet. Whatever her theory of nutrition was it seemed to work; Luna was as healthy and fit as he'd ever seen her. "Aye, well, she loves him." He looked out the window contemplatively. "I can see why. I like him a lot too; he's a fine man when he's sober. It's just that's been getting rarer and rarer as the years have gone by."

"I'm surprised it never affected is work?"

"Aye, well it was beginning to." Seamus nodded. "He told me last night that I probably saved his situation too. He'd started having a nip at in the morning and during lunch to keep the jangles at bay, and he was starting to annoy his coworkers. The goblins have a fairly high tolerance for obnoxious personalities as they have them themselves, but he was beginning to push even them."

"Yes, they are an interesting people, the goblins. They have a tightly closed society when it comes to their own interpersonal relationships. Father wanted to do a book on goblin social habits and customs but they wouldn't cooperate, said it wasn't wandcarriers business what went on inside goblin households. Odd that you never see goblin women in public, isn't it?"

Seamus looked at her with an expression of wonderment. "I never noticed that; yeah, you're right. Why is that?"

"We don't know," she said simply. "Father had that and many other questions for them. Perhaps one day we will have a better understanding of elves and goblins, but for now most of elvish art, literature, and customs are lost, and the goblin societal mores are a secret they intend to keep. It's a great pity as we could learn well from each other's history." She looked at him and her expression became very serious. "Seamus?"

"Yeah?"

Her eyes were filled with care and compassion. "Dean is very angry."

He nodded and in a low voice said, "Aye, I expected that. I'll just go and apologize to him."

She shook her head. "That may not be enough."

Seamus looked at her. "Whatever it takes," he said.

He rose from his chair, and started toward the stairs that led up to the attic studio, then abruptly turned and laid his wand on the table. "Don't want to be tempted to defend meself, I've earned what's coming."

Luna nodded and laid her hand on his. "Good luck. If you need healing I'll be right here."

Seamus snorted a laugh. "We'll see. Thanks, Luna." He kissed her hand and went up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a short door. It always made Seamus laugh at the thought of his very tall best friend bending himself in half to fit though it. This day Seamus didn't laugh though: this day he knocked on the door. Dean didn't usually have breakfast; he would work for a few hours and have a kind of brunch, and then work until dinner. "Dean?" Seamus called at the door.

There was a thump from the other side. "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

_Monosyllables,_ Seamus thought. _ That's not good._ He opened the door and bent a little to get through. Once on the other side the room opened into a large space. The walls came up about four feet before they joined the roof lines. It was a jumble of odd angles and planes but the center of the room was fifteen feet tall and the floor was the size of the entire building. Dean sat at his easel, a canvas with a half completed portrait of his favorite subject before him. Luna reclined on a rock by the sea. She was naked and her foot was toying with the waves. "It's coming along nicely," Seamus said to say something. He looked at his best friend. "I'm sorry I took advantage of her, Dean, but it was the only way."

Dean laid his wand on his easel tray. "I should curse the living fuck out of you, you know that, right?" he said as he stood.

"Aye, and I'd take it, Seamus said. "Left me wand downstairs, I'm yours to do with as you will."

Dean smirked. "I'm not going to curse you, my friend," he sighed as he walked up to Seamus. "But you don't get off Scott free."

Seamus was fast, but he didn't see Dean's fist until it impacted against the left side of his chest with the force of a sledge hammer. He was knocked to the floor, flat on his back, and slid backwards for ten feet before hitting a wall. Dean walked over to him, grabbed his hand and heaved him to his feet. "Never. Do. That. Again," he said through clenched teeth in a voice fueled by fury.

Seamus rubbed the blooming bruise on his chest and nodded to his friend. "I won't, and I'll make sure no one else does either." He held out his right hand. "We still friends?"

Dean shook his head and a small smile appeared on his face. "No, brothers," he said, and took Seamus's hand.

He was suddenly being hugged by Seamus. "Thank god, I was worried most that I'd lose Lav, but I was very afraid o' losing you," Seamus said as he released him. "You're me best mate, Dean." Seamus was tearing up.

"Ah, don't worry." Dean cuffed him lightly on the side of the head. "You'll be stuck with my sorry arse for life, Finnigan," he said, and then turned and walked back to his canvas. "So, apologies all round today, eh?"

"Well, the only ones I really had to apologize to were you and Luna, so I'm all caught up."

"She still hacked?" Dean asked as he sat and faced his work.

"Hard to tell, she _says_ she's forgiven me."

"Well then, you're forgiven," Dean said with a smile. "She's like that you know." And he was gone. Seamus loved the effect Luna had on his friend. When Dean thought about Luna, the way he was doing at that moment, a bomb could go off and not disturb him. His eyes were not focused on anything in particular and a happy smile sat on his face.

Seamus laughed. "Okay, you should stop mooning and paint the girl," he said and patted his back. "She really is very pretty, you're capturing it well."

"Thanks, it's easy with a model like her. She's a work of art all on her own, I just try to catch a moment and get it painted, yeah?"

"Aye, and you do it well my friend, so I'll leave you to it." He turned to go.

"Thanks, tell her I'll be down to eat in an hour or so."

"Done, mate," Seamus said as he bent and stepped through the door.

-~####

Rowan slammed into the mat. "Lav?" he said. "Take it down a notch, that kind of hurt." He rolled to his side and stood.

"Sorry, I was just in the moment, and I got a little carried away," she said.

Rowan smiled at his sister. "You're getting very good, progressing faster than any student the dojo has ever seen. Master Sia will be amazed."

"Thanks," she said. "I really don't know what I'd have done without you teaching me all this, Rowan. Kung Fu has done so much for me. I just can't thank you enough."

"No, it's you we all need to thank," he told her. "I mean you put up with Jaz and Artie grousing about the little bit of help you needed after you came home from hospital, you…"

"It wasn't so little, Rowan." Lavender said seriously. "There were things, girl things, that I couldn't do for a while, and there was the salve that had to be applied the scars. We found some spells that helped, but they had to do a lot of it too, and there was the constant need in me to be… needed, you know?"

Rowan looked at his sister, puzzled.

She took his hand, and looked up at him. "After I was hurt I spent all that time at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey healed me, mostly, and the Sisters saved me, but I still was hurt inside and out when she let me come home. I thought you guys would fear me, I thought I was ugly, I thought I was useless. I was a mess. When I came home Jaz and Artie were just the same to me as always, and though it's not what most people would have called a 'loving' relationship they helped as much as anyone. They wouldn't let me wallow, kept at me to get out. That's what led to the job at Madam Malkin's, and it's part of what kept me working with Luna, and that led to Shay." She smiled at him. "I owe them a lot."

"He's mad for you, you know?"

She smiled from ear to ear. "Yes, he's told me as much, and often."

"Good. I like him a lot, Lavender." He looked in her eyes. "Don't muck it up."

"You're one to talk, how many times were you on and off with Janice?"

Rowan assumed his "older brother" demeanor. "Enough to know that you need to hang on to this man with all you have. He loves you powerfully, and I know you love him just the same, so don't let anything get between you. I let Dad's prob… drinking fuck up my relationship with Janice far too much." He took her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "I've seen your future a bit, Lav. Hold onto the true course and you'll be happier than most."

Lavender hugged her brother. "I intend to, Rowan, I intend to."

-~####

Seamus drew Lavender into a kiss filled with love. "Being together for two straight days was nice, very nice," he said after a few moments. "I really missed you today."

"I missed you as well, my hero," she said, and kissed his fingers.

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "I think we've both had enough o' the 'hero' business," he said with a small laugh.

They were standing in the kitchen of the flat. Lavender had just arrived from her training session with her brother, and was still in her travel cloak. Seamus unclasped the brooch that held it closed and lifted it from her shoulders. He hung it on the peg that had become hers, drew a deep breath, and turned to ask her a question.

"I was thinking," they both said at once.

"After you, me lady," Seamus said with a bow.

"No, I think you should go first," she said.

"Alright then." He drew another long steadying breath. "I was thinking that after last night and this morning, with your mum being so intuitive and your dad being so… understanding, I was thinking of… well, Lav, you live with Parv and Padma at their flat, your home sometimes, and Hogwarts three days a month. I was thinking, would you like to make _this_ your home?"

Lavender nodded. "I've been thinking about the same thing, Shay. Mum practically told me to ask."

"Your dad made it plain to me this morning that he thought we should get on with our lives together."

Lavender nodded and smiled. "That was a bit of a surprise, but I think he feels a certain obligation to you."

"Aye, maybe, but I want him to know he owes me nothing. If he ever brings it up you be sure and tell him that. I did it all for you, me love, all for you."

He said it so earnestly that Lavender's eyes welled, and she hugged him. "I love you," she said with a husky voice. "I love you so much, Seamus Finnigan."

"And I love you, me beauty." He sniggered. "Luna told me this would happen. Said she and Dean had already talked about you moving in. Can you handle their little quirks?"

"What, the naked thing?" she asked with raised eyebrows and a laugh. "Oh yeah, I think I can get past that. I've seen Luna naked plenty, and Dean's just not my type."

Seamus drew her into his arms. "And just what is _your type_, me love?"

She snuggled into his chest. "Stupidly brave, and Irish."

She felt him laugh. "Well then I suppose we'll be fine then. Shall we tell them?"

_That won't be necessary,_ Luna's voice said in their minds. _Welcome to the household, Lavender._

_-~####_

"So, moving in with Seamus," Jasmine said from the doorway. She could hardly contain her smugness as she watched her younger sister pack her most precious possessions.

"Kiss my arse," Lavender said with a laugh.

"Oh, I'll just leave that to him," Jasmine parried.

Lavender contemplated for a moment. "No, he doesn't kiss me there." She smiled wickedly. "He kisses me lots of other places though."

"Bitch," her sister said, crossed the room, and hugged her.

Lavender laughed and hugged her back. "No, I'm 'The Bitch', ask any dog."

Jasmine gave her a puzzled look.

"I'll explain later," Lavender said, and plucked a frame from the wall. She and Parvati stood on the sands of Torquay and waved. Jasmine watched as her sister's face changed, and she felt as if she were the younger one. Lavender looked older, worldlier, as she spoke. "Summer before _that_ year, we were such babes."

"You're still beautiful, Lavender," her sister said earnestly.

She smiled and snorted. "Thanks, but that's not what I meant, I meant we were babies. We had no idea what was about to happen in the next month." She put the picture in her trunk and took her jewelry case from her dresser. It joined the neatly packed array of clothes, pictures, and small ceramic rabbits.

Jasmine laughed. "Did I ever tell you about the conversation Mum had with Mr. Patil?"

Lavender looked at her, bemused. "No."

Jasmine sat on the bed. "It was September the first, and you had just left for King's Cross. The fireplace blew up and Mr. Patil's screaming face jutted out of it." She sniggered again. "Mum took a few minutes of his yelling before she told him to shut the hell up." Jasmine laughed heartily and Lavender joined her.

"Oh, I'm sure that went over well," Lavender said with a sarcastic chuckle. "He's a bit old fashioned, Mr. Patil. He's still hacked at Pad and Parv for defying him. You know he was convinced I talked Parv and then Padma into going back to school for seventh year rather than go with them to India. I'm sure that's why he flooed. Bet a woman telling him to 'shut up' really offended him."

Jasmine shrugged. "Couldn't tell, once Mum got the upper hand she never gave him a chance to speak again. You know how she gets when she's on a roll."

Lavender truly laughed. "Oh the poor sod, how long?"

"Ten minutes, easy."

Lavender shook her head, smiling. "Well I'm sure it was an education for him." She sat on her bed and looked at Jasmine with sincerity written in her expression. "Jaz, I don't think I've said thank you enough. You and Artie… thank you. I was talking to Rowan and it hit me, so I want to make sure you two know how much I owe you, how grateful I am."

"God, you have grown up so much from the annoying little brat that stole all my clothes," Jasmine said. Her face changed and she looked at Lavender guiltily. "I'm sorry, Lav."

"What have you got to be sorry for?"

"We, Artie and I, we didn't treat you very well when you were a kid. We could have played with you more, done more things with you and Rowan, been more… sisterly, but we… we were jealous. I was jealous anyway. You took my spot as the baby girl." She sighed. "And we thought we were older and wiser, and then we were off to Hogwarts and…"

Lavender smiled. "Seamus and I talked about that a while ago. He's got an older brother too." Lavender hugged her to her side. "You've nothing to be sorry for, Jaz."

Jasmine blushed and looked in Lavender's eyes. "Maybe, but _I_ haven't said this enough." she stroked her hand down the side of Lavender's face. "I love you, Lav. You are brave beyond words, you have shown a grace these last few years that I never could have, and I am honored, really honored, to have you as my sister."

The smile that spread on Lavender's face was one of pure joy. She hugged her sister hard. "I love you too, Jaz."

"Great, that's really good, but I can't breathe," Jasmine choked out.

Lavender released her from the crushing hug. "Sorry," she chuckled.

"'S okay, but damn, you are so strong!" Jasmine took a couple of deep breaths. "How's Mum taking this?" she asked. "I mean really."

Lavender shrugged. "It was kind of her idea."

Jasmine looked a little shocked. "Mum?"

"Yeah, day before yesterday, as Shay and I were heading out, she told me I should move in with him. She said since we were sleeping together anyway we might as well live together."

Jasmine looked at her in surprise and admiration. "She knew, eh? Well that's great. I'm a little shocked at her forwardness, but I think I know where it came from." She looked at her sister with an innocent expression. "Artie and I didn't rat on you, by the way. Wonder how she knew?"

"She's a mum." Lavender tossed her head and patted Jasmine's hand. "I'm sure you'll find out one day."

Jasmine became serious. "That's not going to be a problem with you and Seamus is it?"

"No," Lavender answered in a melancholy voice. "He knows I can't have children, and he's fine with it. If we really want to we can adopt."

"Yeah, I suppose there's always that."

Lavender brightened. "But we wouldn't be thinking about kids for a while anyway. I want to do more at the shop, travel a bit," –she smiled coyly– "make love to Seamus everywhere in the house."

Jasmine almost fell off the bed in shock. "Lavender! That's…"

Lavender looked at her with an innocent, expectant expression. "Yes?"

Jasmine started to laugh. "That's great is what it is. It's what I'd do in your… place, I almost said knickers." She shook her head. "Won't that be a bit difficult though? I mean with flatmates and all?"

Lavender smirked. "Nope, not with those two."

"I like him a lot, Lav," Jasmine looked happy and serious at the same time. "You've done so well, I just wish I knew how you did it."

Lavender hugged her sister more gently this time. "Your prince will come, Jaz. I know you've been shat upon by men." _And I'll just keep Parv and my little midnight revenge expeditions to myself right now, _she thought. "But those three were just arseholes. There are a lot of nice, caring men out there. You just have to know where to look and what to look for." She took her sister's hand. "You chose badly, Jaz. I know you want a 'dangerous' guy, but dangerous guys are jerks. You say you like Shay?"

"Yeah, but isn't he 'dangerous'?"

"Not to me," Lavender said gravely, looking in her eyes. "The guys you were with were dangerous to you, to your heart, and we all could see it. They treated you very badly, and we were shocked you stayed as long as you did with them. Why?"

"Why did I stay?"

"Yeah."

There was a long pause. "I don't know." For the first time Lavender could remember her older sister looked lost.

"That's actually a good place start," Lavender said, and she took out her wand. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

Lavender took her sister's hand and looked her in the eyes with her most intense gaze. "No, Jaz. I mean do you really trust me, with your heart, with your deepest problems, with your soul. Do you trust me that much?"

Jasmine looked at her for a long moment, and then she nodded. "Yes."

The younger Brown closed her trunk and levitated it to the floor, and then she turned and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Take out your wand, get all the way up here, and face me." She said it so matter-of-factly that Jasmine was halfway through doing it before she realized that her sister had just given her an order. Something she normally would have chafed at. Lavender closed her eyes and drew a long calming breath while Jasmine settled across from her on the bed. "You've asked several times what Luna and I do; _this_ is what we do. Hold your wand in your right hand and wrap your left around my right." Lavender did the same to her right hand. "We're going to do the _Legilimency_ charm, have you ever done it?"

Jasmine shook her head and said, "No," quietly.

"Alright," Lavender said. "Well I'm not Luna, but I can do the link with just the two of us. Clear your mind."

Lavender watched her sister close her eyes and calm herself. _Kind of an advantage that you're a Ravenclaw_. "When you feel it start don't fight it, go with it. Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Lavender closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She centered herself and let her magic flow "_Legilimens!"_

Jasmine felt her connection to her body drifting away and panic started to creep into her.

_No! Relax,_ Lavender's presence next to her impressed upon her mind. _You're fine and I'm right here. Relax._

The two women faced each other, eyes closed, on the bed and explored their consciousness. As Jasmine became more comfortable with the spell their connection became stronger until she could see Lavender in her mind's eye as clearly as if she were really looking at her.

_Good… Very good. Now, think about Ralph, he was the worst of them_.

For the next hour Lavender took Jasmine on a journey of self discovery. They delved into her memories and feelings, Jasmine learned where and how she had been wrong, and how she made the mistakes she had. More importantly she learned why. Lastly, Lavender shared her connection to her wolfself and introduced Jasmine to _her sweet_, to that side of her now unified personality, and at last Jasmine knew, truly knew, the immense power that resided in the petite blonde girl she had known her entire life.


	9. I Wish You a Brave New Year

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 9

I Wish You a Brave New Year

Seamus, Lavender, Dean, and Luna stood in the little park at Grimmauld Place and watched the house at Number Twelve appear. After checking to be sure that no Muggles were watching, they walked up the steps and Seamus rang the bell. The door opened to reveal Keacher, resplendent in his morning suit, smiling up at them.

"Welcome to the millennium party Master Finnigan, Master Thomas, and a very special welcome to you, Mistress Brown and Mistress Lovegood. Please, do come in." He opened the door wide and stepped aside. The hallway, once dark and foreboding, had been radically changed over the last year and a half. Gone was the old and peeling wallpaper, having been replaced by a light tan paper with narrow vertical stripes of green. Flowers wound around the stripes and Seamus detected the smell of gardenia scenting the air. Seamus saw that the old clock had been cleaned, and it was ticking its way to midnight. The ancient gas lamps lining the walls had been mended and polished, and the hall was bathed in their yellow-white glow.

Mrs. Black's former place had been taken by a new portrait: the only one Dean had painted that did not feature Luna alone. Every surviving member of Dumbledore's Army looked out from the painting, and they waved and smiled at the four as they passed. The other portraits on the wall had been cleaned and straightened. Several of the members of the most ancient and noble house of Black looked out from their canvases, some smiled, others gave a look of polite disdain for the recent arrivals.

"Still kind o' creepy seeing meself there," Seamus remarked, tipping his head at the portrait of the D.A.

"I think that it's Dean's best so far," Luna said.

"Yeah, yeah." Dean hugged her. "The one I'm doing now will be better than that."

"Perhaps you should paint Lavender next," Luna suggested.

"With her kit on!" Seamus said quickly.

Lavender gave him a sidelong look and then a smile.

"Actually I'd very much like to paint her," Dean said, and turned to Lavender. "But I'd like to paint you in wolf, when you're ready."

"I'll think about it, Dean." She nodded to herself and looked at him. "I will."

Keacher showed them to the cloakroom under the stairs. They hung their travel cloaks, and the girls left their bags in the little room, then the smiling old elf led them to the drawing room. Lavender had only been to Grimmauld Place once before and had only been in the hall and kitchen then. She was amazed at the display of old wealth that was the House of Black's drawing room.

The display cases caught her eye, and she wandered over to them. The dark objects from the Black family's past were long gone, and in their place Harry had put things that were just as valuable even in their commonness. The mokeskin pouch lay on the top shelf, a shard of mirror, a snow white owl feather, and an old snitch lay beside it. The next shelf down held a pair of keeper's gloves, the deluminator, and a prefect's badge. Sitting on the third shelf was a tattered beaded bag, a copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, and another prefect's badge. The fourth held the key to a Gringotts vault, a hollow glass heart pendant with a lock of black hair trapped inside, and a head girl smiled,_ so that's what Harry left you when he went hunting Riddle._ On the bottom shelf sat a curved black wand that had been snapped in half and next to it a silver dagger. Lavender knew well the significance of each of these objects to the residents of the house.

The case on the opposite side of the fireplace had only a top shelf. On it sat a Hogwarts house elf uniform and an open locket with a tiny scrap of parchment in it. Under the shelf a fine silvery cloak hung on a peg, a large blank piece of parchment protruding from the inside pocket.

She nodded and her eyes rose to the mantelpiece. At least a dozen framed photos were packed of the narrow plank. Harry's parents danced and waved in one. Ron, Hermione, and Harry, eternally twelve years old laughed in the next. There was the photo of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix. There was one of Ron and Hermione, the same one that was on the wedding invitation. There was one of Harry and Ginny that appeared to have been recently taken at the Burrow. Lavender smiled and traced a finger lovingly down a photo of Harry taken just after the final battle. He still bore some of the cuts and scrapes, but the joyful, weary smile he wore told of hope and triumph. _Thank you,_ she thought. _You deserve all this happiness and more._

"He's a lucky bloke," Seamus said.

She snorted. "Good thing."

"He, at one time, possessed all three of the Deathly Hallows," Luna said from Dean's side. "Luck wasn't part of the equation."

"Really don't understand why he didn't keep 'em all," Dean said.

"Because, my old friend," Harry said from the doorway, "I didn't want to spend my life fighting off challengers for the wand, or dwelling on the past."

"Good evening, Harry," Luna said as she walked to him. She rose onto her toes and kissed his cheek.

"Hands off the merchandise, blondie," Ginny said. She entered the room in a flurry of red hair and turquoise satin.

Luna turned to her, and Ginny enveloped her in a hug. Luna kissed her cheek as well and said, "I am perfectly willing to share my affections with you both, as I have offered many times."

Dean was looking at the carpet, shaking his head, and chuckling. "Don't think Ginny's the sharing type, my love."

"Oh yes, I am quite aware of Ginny's persistent protectiveness of her relationship. I only offer our companionship from time to time." She kissed Ginny full on the mouth. "Perhaps one day…"

Dean was still smiling broadly and laughing as Luna rejoined him. The rest of the people in the room were shaking off the stunned mental images that had suddenly intruded into their minds. Only Dean saw the look in Luna's eyes that told him she knew exactly what she had just done and how funny she thought it was. _You really do enjoy fooling with people's perceptions, don't you, my love? _he sent to her.

_People are at their most honest and real when prodded from their routine, besides, I was completely honest, and it is very funny. _ Her smile went all the way to her eyes, and Dean hugged her to him.

Lavender recovered first. "Yes, well, are we the first to arrive?" she asked Harry.

Harry shook his head and said, "Neville and Hannah are in the kitchen making Keacher and Dilly's lives miserable, but they got here an hour ago." He chuckled himself. "Neville misread the clock and thought they were late. Would you like drinks?"

"Keacher has anticipated our guests' thirst, Master Harry," the old elf said as he walked into the room, a large tray with two thirds full champagne flutes floating ahead of him. "I took the liberty of opening a bottle from the cellar for the first arrivals," -his voice dropped to the mutter he had never really lost- "the first ones at the correct time that is." He brightened and looked at Harry. "This is a superb vintage from the 1890's."

Harry lifted one from the tray and took a sip. "Very nice. Good job, Kreacher." He looked at his friends. "The Blacks collected a lot of things; one was fine wines. I'm still finding things in the cellar we didn't know were there." The others each took a glass from the tray, and Harry lifted his in a toast. "To friends and lovers," he said as he looked around the room. "May we see many more New Years."

"I'll drink to that," Ron said as he and Hermione entered. He took the two remaining flutes and handed one to his fiancée. "Friends and lovers." They all clinked their glasses together and laughed as they sipped the champagne.

Hermione and Ron wandered over to Seamus and Lavender, while Ginny, Luna, Dean, and Harry chatted on the other side of the room. "I understand we need to get you a housewarming gift," Hermione said mischievously to Lavender.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead, take the piss out of us," she replied. "But just remember you're getting married in a month and a half, and there's a hen party." The implied message in her expression was clear.

Hermione hugged her and whispered, "I'm so happy for you," in her ear.

Ron clapped Seamus on the shoulder. "Isn't it a bit crowded in that tiny flat?"

"It's not that small," Lavender said. "Parv and Padma's place was smaller and we didn't have any trouble." She smiled. "The only problem we have is the bathroom, and that's just getting used to everyone's schedule. Once Luna and I figure out who's doing hair on what day we'll be fine."

"Yeah," Seamus said. "All o' Dean's art stuff is up in the attic so there's really plenty o' room to spread out." He looked at Ron and smirked. "You've just got used to it here, all this big house and empty rooms. I'd think you'd remember what it was like at your home. We're certainly not as crowded as the Burrow was."

Ron rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, point to you, mate."

"Have you met Mrs. Black?" Hermione asked Lavender.

"No, Seamus says she's very different than when you were first here." She looked across the room at the tall dark man next to the willowy blonde. "Dean is amazing, isn't he?"

Ron nodded, and then laughed.

"What's so funny?" Seamus asked him.

"Oh it just occurred to me looking at them. Dean dated Ginny, and Harry went on a date with Luna, now they're with the people they should be. It just struck me as funny."

Seamus nudged him with his shoulder. "Almost the same here. You dated Lav, and as I recall I did ask Hermione out once."

Lavender and Ron turned and looked at the other two. "When was that?" they said at almost the same time.

"The week before your seventeenth birthday, Ronald," Hermione said smugly.

"Oh."

Lavender laughed and said brightly, "Yes, well the less we think about those few weeks the better." She looked in Hermione's face. "Don't you think?"

Hermione put her hand on Lavender's. "Absolutely." The two women grinned at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter.

-~####

"Mrs. Black, I'd like to introduce my friend Lavender Brown." Hermione stood in front of the portrait of the matriarch of the Black family. Dean's handiwork went well beyond simply repainting her, he had rejuvenated her, and in the process she had discovered a gentler side of her spirit. Her pure blood mania had drifted away when she had discovered that the chestnut haired woman living in the house was every bit her intellectual equal. They had become friends, Hermione sharing her rise in the ministry and her frustrations at its incomprehensible bureaucracy, and Mrs. Black laughing and telling her how little things had changed since her tenure on the Wizengamot. The now beautiful woman sat in her portrait and smiled at the two younger women before her. A vase of fresh flowers sat on a shelf just to the right of the painting, mirroring the ones on the table in her portrait, and Hermione smiled at them. Kreacher made sure that there were always fresh blooms in her vase.

"A pleasure, Miss Brown," Mrs. Black said. "Hermione has told me much about you. I'm happy to see that animal didn't mar your face; you're very pretty."

"Thank you, Mrs. Black. You're very beautiful yourself."

The painted woman smiled and blushed. "Dean Thomas's work. I'll never be able to thank him enough." Mrs. Black looked down at Lavender with a knowing expression. "So, you're involved with young Master Finnigan, are you?" She chuckled to herself. "You know he lived here for almost a year. How is 'the last living bachelor' doing these days?"

-~####

"Harry, who the bloody hell is that?" Dudley asked, wide eyed. "She's gorgeous!"

Harry chuckled and turned to his cousin. "Her name's Cho Chang, we dated a bit in fifth year."

"Oh, sorry, I was going to ask you to introduce me," the burly blonde man said, his face coloring.

"No problem, Big D," Harry said smiling. "Come with me."

Lavender watched as Harry led his cousin across the ball room to the raven haired witch. As much as Lavender hated Rita Skeeter, she had read her book on Harry, and she, like almost everyone else in the wizarding world, knew the history between the two young men. When Harry had introduced Dudley Dursley to his friends on his arrival many of them given Dudley a less than cordial welcome, but then Harry had made it plain to all that he expected them to treat Dudley well. She had listened intently as Harry described the change he had seen happen to his cousin. After they had been attacked by the Dementors in the summer before Harry's fifth year, Dudley had changed. He had lost easily a hundred pounds, if not more. He had, in the short time Harry had spent with him after that, treated Harry with respect and a kind of friendship, and Harry was eager to have him in his life. He would never have a relationship with his uncle, and because of that his aunt, his only real connection to his mother, was lost to him. "But at least I can have Dudley," he had told his friends and clapped Dudley on the back. "So be nice."

Dudley had flushed a bright crimson while Harry talked, but he smiled broadly when the other guests had come forward and accepted him. Then they had peppered him with questions about Harry's youth. Was it true he slept under the stairs? Did he remember anything from the time Harry was deposited on their doorstep? Was it true that Dumbledore himself had come to their house?

Seamus had been the first to shake Dudley's hand and offer him a drink, and Lavender had glowed with pride for her love. It was quite a turnaround for him as he had been one of the instigators of a plot during sixth year to exact some degree of revenge on the Dursleys for their treatment of Harry, but Harry had discovered it and scuttled the plan. _Good thing Parv and I weren't in on that,_ she had thought and smirked. _You'd still be undoing our hexes._ When she joined Seamus and Dudley part of her was secretly thrilled at Dudley's inability to control his reaction as he swept his eyes over her, and she was even more pleased at Seamus when he leaned in to Dudley and happily said, "Taken, mate."

Now, as she watched, she could see the look he had given her was nothing compared to the amazed, awestruck face he presented to Cho. _Good, she needs some flattery._ Lavender reflected on her friend, for such a beautiful girl Cho had lousy luck with men. Her first love had been murdered, a blow many never recover from, and her second had been Harry. Lavender smirked; inept was the best, nicest description of his courting efforts where Cho had been concerned. After her relationship with Harry had fizzled Cho had not been involved with anyone, save for a fleeting few weeks with Roger Davies before he left on an extended diplomatic mission to South America.

She nodded to herself, sipped her drink, and smiled. Cho was looking at Dudley in a way all women recognize. _Look out, Mr. Dursley, she turns on the charm and you are done for._ She was still sniggering when Seamus joined her.

"Okay everybody, let's dance," Harry shouted, and nodded at Dudley.

Behind a screen of protective spells Dudley's stereo set came to life. Four hundred watts worth of The Weird Sisters pounded out of the two massive speakers he had brought with him, and the crowd bounced and writhed to the rhythm. Seamus looked to his right and smiled at the love of his life. They preferred smooth jazz for dancing, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy more modern styles. He gracefully took her hand and spun her out onto the dance floor in the ballroom. Seamus liked the slower styles because it allowed him to hug her close and feel her fit against him, but watching Lavender thrash about to a more modern beat did have its appeal. Her hair flew around her face, and her dress clung to her, accentuating the wonderful curves he was so enamored of.

After a few fast numbers a slower ballad started and Seamus pulled Lavender to him. They swayed and weaved across the floor among the other couples. For the most part his eyes were on Lavender, but he couldn't help noticing the others. Harry and Ginny were glued together, as were Ron and Hermione. While both men had learned to dance, and dance well, what they were engaged in at the moment resembled vertical foreplay more than anything else. Luna, true to herself, was dancing to a completely different rhythm, but Dean didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up with her. Neville and Hannah were slowly swaying in the middle of the floor, eyes closed and enraptured. He felt Lavender giggle.

"What's so funny?" he whispered in her ear.

They turned and she nodded her head toward another couple. Dudley had left his musical equipment to mind itself and was dancing with Cho. She looked up at him with her beautiful, coy smile, and he looked at her with a still slightly amazed and dazed expression. "I think we may be seeing the beginning of a romance here," she said, her breath tickling his ear.

"Good on them," he said as he looked in her eyes. The music started to fade and Seamus took the opportunity and kissed her.

"You know, if you're going to do that, there are other rooms in this great big house," Parvati said as she and Anthony Goldstein came to a stop beside them.

Lavender smiled at her best friend. "Piss off," she said and laughed. "Where's Padma?"

"I think she and Blaise are getting drinks."

Seamus nodded. "I'm glad he's here. Harry didn't think he'd come."

"I knew he would." Anthony shrugged. "He's pretty brave, if it wasn't for his family history he'd probably have been a Gryffindor like you."

Lavender chuckled. "Yeah, well he'd better be if he wants to keep seeing Padma. She's not one for the meek."

They all shared a knowing laugh. Padma and Parvati may have been identical twins, but their personalities differed in several ways. Parvati was far more "girly", she loved fashion, and perfume, and soft linens. Padma, while she enjoyed dressing well, wasn't nearly as interested in the latest from Paris as she was in the newest developments in spell architecture coming out of the department of mysteries. Parvati was gentle and easy going in her relationship with Anthony, Padma was firm and a little demanding with Blaise, but the dark Slytherin was obviously in love with her. Both Blaise and Padma worked in the Auror office at the Ministry, and at an after work get together the brash Slytherin had asked her out. From then on, an intense, sometimes stormy, but most often passionate romance had begun. Parvati and Anthony had been together for years, and Lavender wondered when he was going to ask her to be his bride. When she had mentioned it to her, Parvati had simply smiled and said, "He will. All I have to do is tell him the time is right."

"Well I have this idea," Seamus said. "I think I need to chat with Mr. Zabini."

"Three, Two, One, Happy New Year!" All around the ball room small explosions of confetti burst randomly from poppers attached to the ribbons hung from the ceiling and light fixtures. It was a reflection of the massive fireworks display a few miles away on the Thames. George and Hermione had spent several hours rigging and charming the poppers to go off just after midnight, and the effect was everything they had hoped for. The revelers laughed, kissed, and drank toasts as the poppers randomly burst, filling the room with a gentle swirling rain of tiny bits of color. After Lavender released Seamus from their loving New Year's kiss he took her hand and kissed it.

"Got something I need to do, Love. I'll be right back."

She looked curious. "Okay, what?"

"Oh, just a little New Years tradition." He winked at her. "Needs doing."

She gave him a quick peck. "Don't be long."

"I won't, It'll just take a few moments. Where's Blaise?"

Lavender smirked. "Find Padma, you'll find him." She laughed. "I think they were over by Dudley and Cho."

Lavender watched Seamus disappear into the mass of people in the ball room. All around her were her friends and their loves. Luna and Dean, a few feet away, were lost in each other's eyes. Ron still hadn't released Hermione from a snog that was turning very sensual. He pressed her to him, one hand in her hair the other around her waist. For her part Hermione had both arms around his waist and one foot was twirling behind her. Lavender giggled at them. The prim, proper bookworm was so lost in her love that she was completely oblivious to the throng around them. Harry and Ginny stood side by side at the fireplace looking out at their friends. She had her head laid against his shoulder and he had his arm around her pulling her close. Oliver Wood and Katie Bell were dancing to unheard music and grinning like fools. She caught a glimpse of Seamus as he found Padma and Blaise before the crowd obscured him again. A hand laid on her shoulder and she turned to find George Weasley standing in front of her with Angelina Johnson on his arm.

"Well, don't you two make a charming couple," she said, and chuckled.

"What… wait," George spluttered. "We're … we're just friends, just hanging out as friends."

Lavender laughed again. "Yeeeaaah right."

Angelina smiled and glared at her coven-mate. "Stuff it, wolfie," she sniggered. "We were just wondering where _your_ other half is."

Lavender tossed her head. "He's off on a mission of some sort. Said he'd be back…"

Three loud knocks sounded from the front door, and Seamus's voice, pitched deep and powerful, boomed in the hall. "The New Year has come! Open your door and let prosperity in!"

All eyes turned to Harry who looked puzzled for a moment, and then an expression of understanding appeared on his face as he nodded. Taking Ginny's hand he strode through the crowd and out the door of the ballroom. Everyone followed them down the stairs and to the front door. Harry waited until everyone had gathered in the entry hall, and then he flung open the door. Blaise stood there, a large loaf of bread in one hand and a lump of coal in the other. Seamus was standing just behind him, smiling.

Lavender beamed with pride. _The dark haired man!_ Her heart overflowed with love and admiration for Seamus.

Blaise looked stern and regal as he delivered the age old lines. "I bring bread, so that all those who dwell here will be fed." He handed the loaf to Ginny. "I bring coal, so that all those who dwell here will be warm." He handed the coal to Harry, and then walked through the crowd to Padma. "And I bring love, so that all those who dwell here will know happiness." He looked into her surprised eyes, and then bent and kissed her soundly. A roar of cheers and applause filled the entry hall, and after he turned from Padma many of the guests patted Blaise on the back and shook his hand.

"I love you," Lavender told Seamus as she hugged and kissed him. Her eyes were sparkling, reflecting the crystals in the chandelier. "That was such a capital idea! Parv has been complaining that a lot of folks think just because he was in Slytherin that he was a supporter of Riddle. You just went a long way towards fixing that." She laughed. "You're really on a roll, Shay."

"'Twas nothing really, me love." He brushed her hair away from her face and smiled, looking into the deep emerald pools of her eyes. "I wonder if someone let the old year out yet." He took her hand. "Let's go look."

Seamus led her through the remaining partygoers in the entry hall and then they made their way through the kitchen, now crowded with late night snackers. Just outside the open door, on the patio overlooking the garden, they found Kreacher smoking a cigar.

"Didn't know you smoked Kreach," Seamus said, patting the elf on the shoulder.

"You wouldn't notice a dragon setting your arse on fire with Mistress Brown in the vicinity," Kreacher muttered, and then turned to them. "I have one a year, at New Year. It's an old tradition for the elves of Grimmauld Place. Mistress Black procured some fine Cubanos many years ago, and Master Harry is not allowed to have a cigar." He muttered something they couldn't hear. "As a consequence Mistress Ginny said I may have them all. Still, I wouldn't want to make a habit of it, so I have reserved them for New Year, and I keep to the old tradition."

"Was it you opened the back door to let the old year out?" Seamus asked.

"Another of the house elf duties here, yes." He turned to Lavender. "I must say I am happy with the effect Mistress Brown has on you Master Finnigan."

He laughed. "Is that so, Kreach. Why's that then?"

Mischievous ancient eyes looked at him, and Kreacher's smile lit his whole face. "Because you are considerably less of an arse with her around."

Lavender burst into hysterics. Seamus gave her a sidelong look, but then he to cracked and guffawed.

When she had recovered enough to speak Lavender bent and kissed the top of Kreacher's head. "Enjoy your freedom, Kreacher. I can see you've embraced it." She laughed again.

"Aye, that he has," Seamus said with a chuckle, and then he turned to Lavender. "The garden's dormant just now, but I'm still a bit warm, would you care to walk the path and let me cool off?"

"Sure and I'd be happy to," she replied in a near perfect imitation of his mother, causing Seamus look at her, startled.

He laughed. "You've been spending too much time with Sheighly and Mam, you have."

"Enjoy your cigar, Kreacher," said Lavender, and she and Seamus turned to the garden path.

-~####

Lavender dropped her dressing gown to the floor and slid into the bed. Seamus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Happy New Year, love," he said wearily.

"Um hmm, love you," she managed before a jaw-cracking yawn overtook her.

"Knackered are you?"

"Um hmm." She didn't even open her eyes; she just laid her head on his shoulder, her arm across his chest, and entwined her right leg with his left. "We'll celebrate in the morning, but right now… I'm…"

Seamus smiled as her breathing slowed; he really envied her ability to fall asleep in seconds. It wasn't far away for him either, as his eyes drooped shut he thought about how the last week had changed his life yet again. As he drifted off, the last thing he thought was, _it's always her. It's always been her. Every time me life takes a wild turn she's in the middle of it; first day of school, the Yule Ball, the D.A., the battle, Mam and Dad's twenty-fifth, and now this. I guess this is how life goes then, isn't it, me lad? You go along and everything is in order, everything is the same, and then in one day one thing changes everything else, and the whole world is different. _He hugged the sleeping girl in his arms. _I love you so, Lavender Brown. Thank you for changing me world... again._


	10. Let Your Road Be Clear

I Believed in Father Christmas

Chapter 10

Let Your Road be Clear

Seamus could not stop smiling. He'd worked hard for this day, but his mother and his soon-to-be-mother-in-law had worked even harder; now they could bask in their accomplishments. He stood and looked in the mirror, adjusting his tie. Reflected in the mirror Dean laughed. "You're humming again," he said, and sniggered.

"Oh, piss off," Seamus said through his own giggles. "Bloody song got stuck in me head this morning, and I'll be buggered if I can get it out."

"Yeah, I can kind of sympathize." Dean swatted Seamus's hands from his tie and adjusted the bow over his friend's shoulders. "But don't sing that when you're supposed to be singing the other song."

"That'd be a good one, yeah," Seamus said. He adopted a northern English accent and sang,

"Mrs. Brown you've got a lovely daughter…"

-~####

Lavender looked in the mirror, Parvati and her mother reflected on either side.

"I hate you," Parvati said smiling broadly with tears in her eyes. "No one should look this beautiful."

The long white dress of satin and silk cascaded down Lavender's body. The bodice hugged her, announcing her femininity without being vulgar. Delicate embroidery, stitched in gold thread, decorated the entire dress with Celtic knotwork, roses, and swirls. A few multi-hued gems were attached at appropriate points, the center of a rose or a swirl, the quarters of a knotwork pattern, and in the eyes of the lion that guarded her train. A strip of lavender satin ribbon bordered the hem and neck line, while lace and silk made up the sleeves. Parvati had commented earlier that what she was wearing under the dress was as at least as spectacular, but only Seamus would see that.

Her mother handed her the bouquet, the whirl of goblin-wrought silver that contained the stems glittered in the sunlight streaming through the upstairs bedroom window. She looked into her youngest daughter's eyes and intoned, "Something old."

Parvati pointed her wand at Lavender's charm bracelet and a leprechaun with glittering green eyes appeared hanging on it. "Something new," she said.

Lavender plucked a ruby studded pin from her mother's dress and pinned it on her own. "Something borrowed."

Her mother picked up a long velvet box her father had delivered and opened it. Inside was a sapphire pendant on a thin gold chain. "Something blue," she said as she placed it around her daughter's neck.

Sylvia Brown dabbed the tears from Lavender's eyes. "Don't go spoiling Jasmine's work; she spent an hour on your face."

"Hope she enjoyed it." Lavender laughed. "Because it's the last time she gets to do it."

-~####

"Two weddings in six months," Franklin Finnigan said. "Sure and that'd make me a bit frantic. You holdin' up okay, Nat?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Frank," Mr. Brown said. "I'm just happy that the two oldest aren't furious that Lav's the first of the girls to get married."

They sat at the kitchen table in the Grove, and Frank poured more tea into their cups. "Well, I've said it before and it bears repeating. You've raised a fine daughter, you and your wife have. She saved me son from a wasted life, and we're happier than words can say to have her join the Finnigan clan," he said.

Nat held up his cup. "To our children then, Lavender and Seamus."

Franklin Finnigan smiled at his new relation and decided he really liked Lavender's father. "To Lavender and Seamus," he said, and sipped his tea.

-~####

Sylvia Brown and Margaret Finnigan stood on the lawn of the Grove; it was Lammas Day. Before them the lawn swept down the small hill from the house, and where it flattened a large marquee had been erected. Inside, rows of chairs faced a small dais with an altar and a piano sitting on it. Flowers were everywhere. Roses entwined around the arches at the entrances, carnations and gardenia festooned the lectern, a large multi-flower spray sat on the piano, and the entire interior of the marquee was littered with petals of all kinds. It smelled incredible.

"The tables for the feast are set," Janice Brown's voice said from behind them.

"Oh, thank you so much, me dear," Margaret told her. "I'm sorry I haven't said it yet, but it's a pleasure to have you and your husband back to the Grove."

"Thank you, Mrs. Finnigan," Janice said. "Rowan and I love it here almost as much as Lavender does. We'd be a nuisance if we lived closer."

Margaret laughed. "Pish posh, come as often as you like. Frank and I will be happy to have you any time."

Janice looked toward the house. "Are they ready?"

Sylvia nodded. "Parvati's got Lavender up in Margaret's bedroom and Seamus should be joining us any minute." She turned and looked toward the house just as the door opened. "Ah, here comes Luna; we're about to start."

Janice started down the slope. "I'll just go and join Rowan then," she said over her shoulder.

Luna strolled down the walkway, smiled at Seamus's and Lavender's mothers, and proceeded to the entrance of the marquee. She was wearing a calf length dress of deep blue satin. Her hair had been tamed by Artemisia with charms and dark blue ribbon from its usual unruly state, and it fell in perfect waves around her face and down her back. A small silver rabbit on a silver chain hung around her neck, and the reason for the flat shoes of black leather became apparent when she mounted the dais and sat in front of the piano.

A murmur went through the crowd in the chairs. Although most of them knew Luna, only a dozen or so knew of her ability at the piano. She lifted the lid and without pause started into Chopin's Étude number three. She had chosen this piece for its similarity to the lives of the two people about to be wed, peaceful, but with moments of high tension. A small smirk graced her face as a few people in the audience gasped. She hadn't intentionally kept her talent from them; she just wasn't someone who needed validation from others. She knew she was good.

And now they all knew.

About halfway through the piece Dean led Mrs. Finnigan, and then Mrs. Brown, to their seats beside their husbands. Luna never stopped playing and segued seamlessly into a set of alternating, arpeggiated chords. Seamus appeared at the entry, strode to the dais, then Dean joined him and stood on his left. The crowd gasped again at the second great surprise of the afternoon when Seamus began to sing. Although there was an old superstition about the groom singing at his wedding, the Finnigan men never held to it. They had sung to their brides for as long as there had been Finnigans. His grandfather had sung this particular song, as had his father. Seamus had altered the lyrics a small bit, and now it was his turn.

"One night as the moon did illumine the sky'  
I first took a notion to marry  
I hopped on me broom and away I did fly  
You'd have thought I'd have been in a hurry  
When I came to the place where I often had been  
Me heart gave a leap when my darlin' I seen  
I lifted the latch and I bade her Good E'en  
Will you come with me over the mountain?"

Seamus looked out over the rows of neatly seated guests. Lavender's mother sat in the front row smiling up at him with tears of happiness coursing down her face. Her father sat on her right with shining eyes of his own. On the other side of the aisle his mother looked at him with an expression of supreme pride, and his father was silently singing along with him. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat in the front row just beside his parents, looking stunned. His brilliant tenor was as big a surprise to them as Luna's virtuosity was to everyone else. The melody came round again and he sang the second verse.

"What notion is this that's got into your head  
You'll make me afraid to be near you  
It's twelve o'clock and they're all in bed  
Speak low or me mammy will hear you.  
I'm using no magic, casting no spell  
I'm an honest young wizard and I love you right well  
And if you'll not have me, then dear girl, farewell  
I'll go back alone o'er the mountain."

Through the entry to the marquee he saw Lavender and Parvati making their way down the gentle slope from the house. He nearly forgot what he was doing, and his voice gave a little hitch as he locked eyes with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. _Next verse, Seamus,_ Luna's voice said in his head. He nodded, eyes never leaving Lavender's, and continued.

"If I were to make an elopement with you  
I might find myself in great danger  
The country would tittle and censor me too  
My parents would frown and no wonder.  
Let them all tittle and censor away  
Consult with yourself for it's growing near day  
What do we care what the country might say?  
Come with me over the mountain."

They were close now. The gathering under the marquee had yet to notice the girls approaching, so caught up in the song as they were, and Lavender slowed her walk so that Seamus had time to finish.

"She looked at me long and she looked at me hard  
She trembled a little uneasy  
Then wiping a tear that appeared in her eye  
She said to me – Darling, I'm ready.  
Give me a moment till I get me shoes  
Me heart gave a leap when I heard the glad news  
I lifted the latch saying I hope you'll excuse  
Me simplicity over the mountain."

Parvati brought Lavender to a halt a few feet from the opening. Seamus was grinning broadly, still staring into Lavender's eyes, as he started the last verse.

"By this time the moon had gone down in the sky  
And the morning star hiding in shyness  
We both made the journey in greatest of haste  
And we were wed at the altar of highness.  
In peace and contentment we'll spend all our days  
The anger of parents will soon blow away  
And often we'll smile when we've little to say  
On the trip we take over the mountain."

Luna reprised the last few bars of the melody and segued into the Wedding March. Everyone stood and turned to face the two women at the entrance to the marquee. More gasps and murmurs sounded through the crowd, and a few loud sobs came from Mrs. Brown, Jasmine, and Artemisia. Nathanial Brown had tear streaks down his face, and Seamus noticed out of the corner of his eye that even his mother was dabbing a handkerchief at her cheeks.

Theodore Lupin, all of five years old, marched slowly down the aisle carrying a pillow with the two rings. A small titter rippled through the audience as they observed how intently he was concentrating on not dropping the rings from the pillow. Hermione rose from her chair and stepped up on the dais, and with a smile she bent and took the pillow from Teddy. The little boy smiled and scampered back to his grandmother who was sitting at the end of the second row behind Ginny. With a chuckle Hermione took her place behind the altar and set the pillow between the two lit candles that stood on it.

Parvati kissed Lavender's cheek and walked slowly down the aisle to take her place opposite Dean. Seamus barely noticed; his eyes were only for Lavender. Darkness formed at the edge of his vision, and his world contracted to a small circle around her, all else was blackness, and he swayed a little.

"Stay on your feet, Finnigan," he heard Dean say in a whisper.

Then Lavender started down the aisle. Unseen by anyone, Artemisia pointed her wand at the ceiling of the marquee and muttered an old incantation. A gentle flurry of lavender petals fell over everyone as the bride walked slowly to the man she would marry. Seamus held his hand out and helped her up the step. She handed her bouquet to Parvati and took both his hands in hers. With a grand flourish Luna finished the wedding march and turned to face them.

Hermione smiled out across the crowd and raised her voice. "Witches and wizards, friends and family, welcome." She looked Lavender and Seamus each in the eyes. "Love … love is our greatest strength, our strongest shelter, and our most powerful weapon. Our great professor, Albus Dumbledore, thought this was the most important lesson he could teach us, and I agree. We gather here to celebrate that supreme human achievement, love. In these two before us we see it manifest. In their hearts, in their souls, and in their actions they have proven their love over and over. Now committed, each to the other, they stand before us to declare their love and take the ancient bonds. Please be seated."

As the audience sat Hermione pulled her wand from under her robes, and closed her eyes in concentration. She held her wand up over her head and swept it in a great circle. "Ban, ban, barrier that none shall pass. I conjure thee, great circle of power, that we may sanctify and protect these that would be wed. Naught but love shall enter in, naught but love shall emerge." A rippling in the air formed around the marquee, and the sounds of the birds singing in the trees became muted and distant.

Margaret Finnigan looked at the young woman with the chestnut hair, caught her eye, and nodded to her, impressed. Hermione smiled back at the older woman and continued. "I have known Lavender and Seamus from the day we all first met. Their courage made them Gryffindor, their dedication made them a great witch and a great wizard, and their willingness to selflessly sacrifice themselves for the good of all made them heroes. Today we will make them one." She turned to Lavender. "My sister, you have had more hardship in your short life than most see in a hundred years, I wish only happiness for you from now on. Do you have words for your husband to be?"

Lavender looked into Seamus's face, securing this moment in her memory. "Seamus Finnigan, one day long ago I pulled you into my arms from the water of the black lake. I didn't know then that you were the love of my life, but I did know that you were my friend. And you remained my friend through the hardest times of my life. Then, at my most imperiled moment, you were there, saving me. I owe you my life, Shay, but more than that I pledge it to you. I pledge you my heart forever and your name on my last breath."

Half the crowd was openly crying. Hermione turned to Seamus, his eyes shining with unshed tears of joy and love. "My brother, we have laughed and we have cried together. You were the heart and the fire of passion for those that stayed. I wish for you all of the joy and love you so deserve. Do you have words for your wife to be?"

"Lavender," he began, "I was lost and drifting with the wind, and then an angel found me, an angel with a loving caress and a firm hand." Another giggle flitted through the audience. "You brought me back from a dark place, you did. I was not the man I should be, the man I am now, and I am that man because of you. Just when I feel that I could not love you more, you do something fine, and I'm lifted to another, higher love. You are me life, me future, and your eyes are the last thing I wish to see when I depart this earth. I will be true to you and never waver, and I will stand with you and face whatever comes. This I swear by the land, by me family, and on me wand."

Sniffles sounded from all quarters of the marquee. Hermione gave the audience a moment to collect themselves and then continued. "In the past, when honor was in short supply, these bonds were made on pain of death. Now we simply take witches and wizards at their word." She turned to Lavender. "Do you, Lavender Brown, take this man, Seamus Finnigan, to be your husband; to be his refuge from the world, to hold him in sorrow, and laugh with him in joy? Do you promise to stay true to him and love him for as long as you live?"

Lavender lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. "I do."

Hermione looked at Seamus. "Do you, Seamus Finnigan, take this woman, Lavender Brown, to be your wife; to keep the world from her door, to comfort her in sadness and dance with her in happiness? Do you promise to love her and only her for as long as you live?"

Seamus looked Lavender squarely in the eyes. "I do, with all me heart."

Hermione looked out at the crowd. "Since not all of us are wizards or witches, I will explain the bonding of the wands. Since the time that magic arose witches and wizards have bound themselves together, one way of showing trust and faith is the mutual bonding of the wands. As these two are wedded so will their wands be wed. They will be magically united so that if danger should arise both will serve either person as their own, and if they are used together their magic will be multiplied." She looked the couple before her. "Wands."

Seamus drew his wand from the inside pocket of his dress robes, and Lavender drew hers from a special pocket in her dress. Seamus knelt and offered Lavender the handle end of his wand. She took it and placed it in her right hand along with hers, and then she wrapped her left hand around her right. Seamus stood and placed both his hands on either side of hers. Both of their wands, surrounded by all four of their hands, pointed at the ceiling.

Hermione drew her wand again and did clockwise circles around Seamus's and Lavender's while she said the incantation, "_Ego suo vos iam quod forem. Unus vita, unus pectus pectoris, unus veneficus_." A blue green glow shimmered around all three of them for a moment and then faded. Hermione nodded to them, and Seamus released his hold on Lavender's hands. She handed him his wand, and they slid them back into their pockets.

"The wedding rings are a symbol of a love eternal." Hermione said, and glanced at her own. "They are a physical depiction of a love that has no beginning and no ending." She lifted the pillow with the rings from the altar and nodded to Seamus. He took the smaller thin gold band from the pillow, and Hermione smiled at him. "Repeat after me … with this ring I thee wed."

Seamus looked into the face of his bride. "With this ring I thee wed." He slid the ring on her finger and the moment it touched her engagement ring the two fused into one.

"To be your husband, your friend, your lover."

His smile turned a bit roguish. "Aye, to be your husband, your friend, your lover."

The audience laughed.

"To cleave to you and you alone for all my days."

"To cleave to you and you alone for all me days."

Hermione turned to Lavender. She remembered how she had trembled at this point in her own wedding, almost dropping Ron's ring. She glowed with pride for Lavender as her friend calmly plucked Seamus's ring from the pillow and took his hand.

"With this ring I thee wed."

"With this ring I thee wed." Lavender pushed the ring onto his finger.

"To be your wife, your friend, your lover."

"To be your wife, your friend, your lover."

"To cleave to you and you alone for all my days."

"To cleave to you, Shay, and you alone for all my days."

Hermione nodded and looked into the crowd. "In a magical marriage the rings have an additional duty." She nodded to Seamus and Lavender.

Lavender kissed her ring and held her hand out to Seamus. "As we are bound," she said.

Seamus kissed his ring. "So these are bound," he said, and laid his hand on Lavender's so that their rings touched.

Hermione drew clockwise circles above their hands with her wand. "Be united as one heart, _exsisto Iunctus ut unus pectus pectoris_," she intoned. A glittering shower of golden sparks spiraled down out of her wand. Seamus and Lavender's rings glowed briefly, and then they felt them warm and the steady pulsing of each other's hearts in their rings. "For as long as you live you will be able to find each other." Hermione looked out into the audience. "As Seamus and Lavender have stood before us and bound themselves, their wands, and their rings, we are bound to bear witness that they are now and forever, husband and wife." She winked at Seamus. "Kiss the girl, Shay."

Seamus slid his arms around her waist. "Hello, Mrs. Finnigan."

"Hello, Mr. Finnigan," she said, and his lips were on hers. The world vanished at it was just them, wrapped in an embrace. Far in the distance she heard a voice shout, "Well done, Finnigan," followed by cheers and applause.

"Hello in there," Hermione said after a long pause, and then she laughed. "We'd like to get to the feast now… if you don't mind terribly." The birds singing in the trees became louder when Hermione flicked her wand, dispelling the circle.

Gradually the world came back into focus, and Lavender looked into her husband's smiling face.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Lavender looked at him with an expression that made Seamus's heart race and his face flush. She smiled coyly and said, "Not really."

"Aye, he laughed. "Well, even so we probably should join our guests and build up our strength then." Seamus took his bride's hand and led her back down the aisle as the crowd cheered again.

-~####

At the head of the receiving line Luna shook Rowan Brown's hand. "You play marvelously," he said.

Luna looked at him and grinned. "Thank you, Rowan Brown." _Lavender tells me we have something in common._

He looked at her, and concentrated. _**Yes, I believe we do.**_

She swayed a little, looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. _No need to shout, Rowan Brown. My, you are very strong, aren't you?_

Janice looked from her husband to the blonde woman with the Mona Lisa smile, knowing she was missing something. "Good to see you again, Luna," she said.

"It is very nice to see you again, Janice Brown," Luna said as she took her hand, and Janice felt a tingling sensation pass through her body. "Both of you." Luna's smile became even more enigmatic. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, but we've been married now for five months," Janice said. "No need for congratulations anymore."

Luna giggled. "Oh, yes there is," she said, looking over Rowan's shoulder. "Good afternoon, Minister."

-~####

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Dean called. He stood next to Seamus at the head table. All around the back lawn of the Grove tables were scattered. Each had an umbrella half again the size of the table top hovering over it. Seamus and Lavender were flanked by Dean and Luna on Seamus's side and Parvati and Anthony on Lavender's. Pelly the Badgewonk, Luna's erstwhile pet, sat in her lap. The crowd quietened as Dean held up his glass. "I met Shay and Lav the same day they met each other, September the first, nineteen ninety-one. We were all sorted into Gryffindor, and became friends. In short order Shay became my best mate, and he's been my best mate ever since." He smiled, turned, and addressed Lavender. "Lav, Shay ever tell you about the night after the Yule Ball?"

Seamus glared at his friend. "Shut the hell up, Thomas," he said, and the crowd roared with laughter.

"Do continue, Dean," Lavender said with a smile. "Just what did happen?"

"Well my best mate comes home from a date with the most beautiful girl in our year.

"HEY!" shouts simultaneously sounded from Anthony, Ron, and Blaise.

"IT'S THEIR WEDDING, GUYS!" Dean shouted back.

Hermione rose from her chair at the next table. "We concede, don't we, ladies?" Parvati and Padma both smiled and nodded. "Thank you, gentlemen, for your defense," she said, looking at Blaise, Anthony and then her husband. "Go on, Dean."

"Thank you, Prefect Granger," he said slyly as she took her seat.

She smiled and glared at him. "Don't push it, Thomas," she said, and looked at Luna. "I know someone that can put you in detention."

Dean laughed along with everyone else, looked out at the people sitting around the tables, and went on. "So, Shay comes back to the dorm after the ball, and he's floating on air." He turned to Lavender. "It was his first kiss, you know." Lavender nodded. Dean smiled at her and turned back to the audience.

"Well he comes in the room to find two morose roommates, me, and Neville not back to the dorm yet." Parvati and Padma both laughed, and Dean looked from one to the other. "Yeah, we covered that one at Harry and Ginny's wedding, didn't we. Anyway, it didn't even slow Shay down," he laughed again. We heard about the whole night, twice. Every dance, every kiss, the feel of her dress, the colours her hair turns in the light, her eyes, everything. We took the mickey a good bit, but his smile was charmed on, charmed on by a very beautiful young witch, and we couldn't get under his skin at all." He paused. "Hacked us off, really."

A round of laughter went through the crowd.

"Well, it wasn't the beginning of a grand love affair like we thought it would be, but it was the continuation of a grand friendship. Though to tell you the truth, Lav, Shay never had eyes for anyone else after that. He dated a few girls after the war, more 'n a few, but you seem to be a hard act to follow."

The crowd laughed again.

"Then came the battle." The crowd quietened substantially. "Lav, I don't know if you know this, but Shay stayed by your bedside for three full days. We had to drag him back to the dorm to get some sleep after Poppy told us you would live."

"Parv told me when I woke up," she said thickly. "She also told me he was pretty mad that he wasn't there _when_ I woke up." She hugged his arm.

"Yeah, I know," Dean continued. "We got remarkably pissed at the Hog's Head that night."

Chuckles sounded from several male voices.

"Those laughs you just heard were from the blokes that were there. A lot of us care for Lavender as a great friend, and we were… well not quite as relieved as Shay and Parv were, but we were very happy that night." He smiled at the couple next to him. "For the next year and a bit Luna and I went back to finish, and Shay went travelling and lived on and off with Harry and Ron at Grimmauld. When Luna and I got our flat we had an extra room, and we asked Shay if he wanted it. The 'last living bachelor' moved in shortly. You all remember that 'last living bachelor tripe, right."

Ron and Harry nearly guffawed as laughter, and nodding heads were scattered through the crowd.

"Yeah, Shay, we told you, me especially, that love would find you. I just didn't know she'd be sitting at our kitchen table." He looked fondly down at Lavender. "One night we lost track of Shay, and Lav went out to look for him with us. She found him, in more ways than one. That weekend was the first time he brought Lavender here, and when they got back home I had a very different best mate."

Dean looked out at the crowd with a serious look on his face. "My friend here is a good man; Lavender makes him a great man." He let those words hang in the air for a moment. "And Shay brings out the best in Lavender, her family will attest to that. Many of us see that there are couples here that were meant to be, Luna and me, Harry and Ginny, those two," he said, rolling his eyes and nodding at Ron and Hermione.

"You be sure and give him just as good at their wedding Shay," Ron called out.

"Yeah, yeah, stuff it Weasley." Dean laughed, and gazed back out across his audience. "Looking back on it, Lav and Shay were meant to be too, and now they are. So here's to my best mate and one of my oldest friends." He raised his glass. "To Lavender and Seamus Finnigan, may there always be fire in your hearth, love in your hearts, and money in your pocket; to Lavender and Seamus!"

"Lavender and Seamus!"

-~####

"I have something for you, Lavender," her father said. They swayed in the middle of the dance floor to a slow waltz. The interior of the marquee had been charmed into a dance hall complete with soft lighting and wooden floor. "I thought Artie or Jaz would get here first, but as you're the first girl to be married you get it."

"What's that, Dad?"

"A very special locket," he said, and pulled a silver chain with an egg sized oval locket on it from his suit pocket. "Your great grandfather gave this to your great grandmother before he left to fight in the First World War. It's been handed down to the first woman in the family to get married since. Your grandmother got it on her wedding day, your mother on hers, and now it's yours." he placed the chain around her neck.

Lavender looked into her father's face, and a few tears ran down her cheeks. "I think you should save it for Artie, Dad. I won't have a daughter to give it to."

Nathanial Brown looked at his daughter with a melancholy smile on his face. "You never know what the future holds, my baby girl," he told her. "You can give it to one of their daughters if you like, but for now it's yours." He chuckled. "Oh, and I'd keep it to yourself for a while. They're hacked enough as it is."

"Okay, I'll keep it, but just until one of their girls gets married." She looked into her father's face. "Thanks Daddy, thanks for everything."

-~####

"Change partners, Nat?" Seamus asked as he and Sylvia swung up beside him and Lavender.

"Certainly… Son." Grinning with pride he handed Lavender's hand to her husband.

"Mum talk your ear off?" Lavender asked in a hushed voice as they danced away from her parents.

"Oh no, not at all, she just told me how happy she was… a few times."

Lavender giggled. "Well she is, quite." She shook her head. "I just hope Artie and Jaz forgive me."

"Oh they seem fine. Don't think they're angry at all, not from the way they keep smiling at you and telling you how beautiful you are. You are by the way, so beautiful." Her heart fluttered at the look he gave her. _To the gates of hell and beyond,_ she thought. _Anything, anytime, anywhere. I promise I won't take advantage, Shay._

"And you are the most handsome, devoted man in the world, my husband." She said sincerely, and then chuckled again. "But just wait until Mum starts pestering them to find husbands of their own. Rowan and I are never going to hear the end of it."

"We could do a bit o' matchmaking?"

She shook her head and fixed him with a stern expression. "Don't even think it, Shay. Parv and I learned the hard way."

"Do tell?" he said with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, okay. No secrets." She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Well, it was fifth year, and we noticed Dean watching Ginny."

Seamus stopped dead. "You did that?"

Lavender blushed and pulled him back into the dance. "Yes, well, sort of. I mean he was interested and we didn't know… everything. All we really did was put a word in Ginny's ear that Dean was interested, and then put them together at the end of year party. Ginny was done with Michael at that point, so we thought it'd work well." Lavender laid her head on his shoulder as they danced. "There were a dozen girls crushing on Harry, and we thought Ginny was over it." She was quiet for several moments, as she reveled in the feel of her husband against her. "Should have talked to Hermione," she chuckled. "But how could we have known Ginny had been in love with Harry since she was ten, and by that time I had a sort of issue with Hermione."

Seamus chuckled himself. "I've told you this before, me love. I just wish it'd have been me. We'd have got here a lot sooner."

"We're here now, Shay." She looked up into his eyes, drinking him in, memorizing the expression of pure love on his face. They drifted around the dance floor in silence, holding each other close, in their own insular world oblivious to everything and everyone else. Other couples passed by them and offered congratulations, but they smiled and danced on as it became obvious that the bride and groom were lost in each other.

The bonfire was roaring inside a circle of boulders set in the back lawn of the Grove. As he opened the garden gate Seamus noticed that now and again someone would approach the fire and toss a scrap of parchment into the flames. He and Lavender had left the marquee full of dancing people to stroll through the garden before they left for France. Lavender giggled and pointed to a bench at the far side of the pond.

"I knew it!" she said quietly.

Cho Chang sat wrapped in the arms of Dudley Dursley. After the New Year party at Grimmauld they'd started seeing each other on a regular basis, much to his parent's consternation. Lavender smirked. Auror Chang was not intimidated by… anything, and Dudley's parents had learned early on that she wouldn't curse them, she'd talk, and Cho possessed a quick mind coupled to a razor sharp tongue. She had laughingly relayed a tale to Lavender that Dudley told about the last visit by Professor Dumbledore to the home on Privet Drive. Dudley thought it was funny as hell now, his parents weren't there yet. He had also told Cho that her half hour rant on their treatment of the two boys they had raised, delivered at an ever increasing volume and pitch, had tamed Mr. and Mrs. Dursley quite well.

"Harry loves that, you know," said Seamus from her side. He chuckled. "Says it turns his uncle into a cherry coloured walrus."

"They're getting pretty serious," Lavender said. "Wonder what colour he'll turn if they get engaged."

"I'd pay ten galleons to see it."

She smiled. "I'm sure you're not alone there, my love."

They came to the swing. Lavender sat while Seamus pushed her in gentle arcs. "Are the papers for the house all finished and filed?" she asked.

"Aye, me love. It's our home now.

Her smile was content and serene. "Good. Margaret… Mam," -she smiled happily- "is very pleased we're going to be so close, and Mum is a floo away. It's marvelous, Shay. I like old homes, and a little cottage built in thirteen twelve is my idea of perfect."

"Grew up in an old home meself." He looked up at the new moon. "It was a good day for you, me love?"

"Better than I ever dreamed of, my husband."

He laughed and brushed his hand down her hair as she swung back to him. "Wonder what Kingsley was on about."

"Yeah, me too, I'm curious what this 'intriguing situation' is?"

Seamus pushed her again. "Well he knows the rules; we stay together, they don't get to make any demands on _your sweet_, something we want to do, we'll see what he says when we get back."

"He's a good man." She laughed. "Persistent, but still a good man, and it was very nice of him to personally arrange the Portkey to Paris."

"Speaking o' which, there's a room at the Hotel Magia waiting for us." Seamus brought her to a stop, stepped around to the front of the swing, and held out his hand. "Mrs. Finnigan?"

Lavender took her husband's hand and rose from the swing. "Mr. Finnigan."

-~####

Cho and Dudley watched from across the garden, as the bride and groom shared a wondrous moment in the moonlight. When Seamus pulled a letter from his pocket and Lavender took hold of it, Dudley felt Cho snuggle into him. "Have a wonderful time, Lavender. You've earned it. Take care of her, Shay." The couple on the opposite side of the garden floated up into the air and disappeared in a flash of blue.

-~####

Seamus held the door for his wife as she walked into the office of the Minister for Magic. Lavender smiled at the Minister and took a seat in one of the chairs facing his desk. She smoothed the fabric on her dress, a knee length, form hugging creation in red and blue silk and satin. Her husband had been very patient and generous as she wandered through the dress shops of Paris, and she had been very grateful and accommodating in the ensuing evenings. Seamus sat in the chair next to her, and they looked expectantly across the desk at Kingsley.

"Well," he said in his rich baritone. "Did you enjoy Paris? I can see you left a few galleons there." He indicated Lavender's dress.

"More'n a few, sir," Seamus said, and laughed. "Ah, but it was worth it, it was."

Lavender laid her hand on Seamus's. "And thank you, Minister."

The Minister interrupted her. "Kingsley, Mrs. Finnigan," he said kindly. "I'd like to be on a first name basis with you and your husband."

"All right," she smiled. "Thank you, Kingsley, for the room, for the champagne, for the escort from the French Ministry, all of it. It was wonderful, and the French Ministry and the staff of the hotel were so kind and helpful, we had no trouble at all."

"Aye, they even tolerated me massacring their language."

Lavender laughed. "Oh, Kingsley, you should have seen some of the looks we got when Shay attempted French." She giggled uncontrollably.

"Aye, I suppose it was pretty funny for you, me love." Seamus said shaking his head. "Me bad French with me accent. I'm surprised they understood me at all."

Lavender laughed harder. "They didn't, Shay. I translated more than you know."

"Well then I guess any time I go to France you have to come." He said and kissed her hand.

The Minister smiled at the two young people so obviously in love. "I'm happy you had such a good time, and I'll relay your thanks the French Minister. Pierre was more than pleased to arrange what he did for you." He leaned forward and opened a file on his desk. "But I suppose you'd like to know why I wanted to talk to you again."

"You're going to offer us another position I suspect," Lavender said with a smile.

"Yes, I am," he laughed. "And this time I think you may accept."

"Aye then, let's hear it."

Minister Shacklebolt cleared his throat. "As you are more than aware, there are now a Mr. and Mrs. Potter and their friends Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."

Lavender nodded. "We were all at the weddings."

"Quite true, Lavender," Kingsley said. "Which means in the near future there will be young Potters and Weasleys, and those children will be targets. There are those who will never give up their vendetta against Harry, Ron, Hermione, all of you." He let them think on that for a moment. "When I spoke to Ginny and Hermione they didn't fully comprehend the nature of the threat, now they do. We need someone to watch over these most precious children, we need security for them that will be constant and 'constantly vigilant', we need to be sure that when the attack comes, and it will come, that those that are to protect these children will act instantly, effectively,"-his face hardened- "and lethally, with no hesitation."

Seamus and Lavender were gobsmacked. Of all the possible offers they had guessed about, this one had never occurred to them. The minister continued. "When I asked Ginny and Hermione who they would like for this assignment, you two were their first and only choice. We have time, but not a great deal I suspect." His deep laugh reverberated through the room. "After all there are Weasleys involved."

Seamus and Lavender were still too stunned to talk.

"There will be training, of course. The standard three months Auror training, but then I have arranged some very special foreign opportunities." He looked at the pretty blonde woman. "Lavender, I understand you have been studying Kung Fu. I've spoken to the Chinese Minister, who in turn has spoken to the Wizarding Wu Shu monks of Lhasa."

"They exist?" Lavender choked out.

"Yes, and they would very much like to train you. The idea of a sentient werewolf skilled in the Wu Shu arts appeals to them a great deal." He turned to Seamus. "Seamus, they would also teach you. You would need to know how to work with Lavender in those kinds of situations." Kingsley smiled to himself. He knew the offer was one that would intrigue them, but he was very pleased at their stunned, awed faces. "After that the Shinto wizards of Fuji would be pleased with your presence."

Lavender let out a stunned breath. "Us? Me?" she said in wonder

"Yes, Lavender, both of you. Lastly the American department would take you through modern combat and weapons training." He looked at Seamus. "You're going to have to learn to drive a car, fly an aeroplane, ride a motorcycle."

"Already know how to do that one, sir," Seamus said, still amazed.

"Good. You would report directly to me, and no one else would know the nature of your assignment besides the immediate families. To everyone else you'll just be the nanny and her husband." He stretched and smiled. "Well I know this is a big decision, so I'll let you think on it, but don't take too long. If you decide not to take it we'll need time to make other arrangements."

Seamus was quiet for a long moment while he watched emotions play over his wife's face. "Me only concern is for Lav." He turned to face her. "If we do this, love, could you handle being around the children that much knowing that you can't have your own?"

Lavender nodded slowly. "Yes, Shay, I could. I think it's a wonderful idea, really." She looked at her husband and gave an almost imperceptible nod to him, and he smiled and nodded back. Lavender turned back to face Kingsley. "I don't think you need make any other arrangements, Minister, and we don't need to think about it," she said. "We'll take it."

_Finis_


End file.
